The public library reopened yesterday after being closed for nearly a month, despite the protests of employees who say the asbestos abatement work is not complete and that the building is unsafe.
 
And while an initial state test yielded negative results for asbestos, employees don't feel reassured.
 
The library was closed for two weeks while the abatement work took place but, after plaster from the roof fell inside the building, there were concerns of contamination and the levels of asbestos.
 
The library remained closed while the board of trustees consulted with the state Asbestos Control Bureau, which took two samples from the library last week.
 
The board decided to reopen the facility yesterday although it had not yet received the results from the state tests. The results came later in the day.
 
Employees came to work yesterday wearing face masks and latex gloves, provided by their union.
 
"The staff is frightened," said Gary Newman, president of Westchester Local 860 of the Civil Service Employees Association, the library workers' union. "This is a real outrage to put our health and the public's in threat."
 
Library Director Rodney Lee said the board's decision to open was made with much thought, but the majority of tests did not show hazardous conditions.
 
"We understand that people feel their health is threatened, but we have looked at sample after sample. We are not saying there is no asbestos, but that there is no non-friable asbestos," Lee said.
 
Different studies by two companies have produced conflicting results — one citing a concentration of 8 percent in the plaster found in the children's room, the other finding that the asbestos level is not harmful.
 
The Environmental Protection Agency considers an asbestos level of more than 1 percent to signify contamination.
 
Newman said questions remain, despite the first state test coming in negative for asbestos contamination.
 
"The results are of the areas that have already been tested. This does not mean the building is safe," Newman said. "Safe would mean ongoing testing."
 
The results of the second sample are scheduled to be released tomorrow.
 
Union members are handing out an asbestos fact sheet saying the library has dangerous levels of the carcinogen and that the library should continue testing.
 
Christopher Williams, 37, was one of the employees wearing a face mask, concerned about the air he is breathing while at work as a principal library clerk.
 
"It seems the library administration does not care about the workers," said Williams, who has worked at the library for 18 years. "We want to work, but in safe conditions."
 
Marcella Jenkins, a reference librarian for three years, said the uncertainty is what worries her.
 
"Yes, tests have been done, but we don't know if levels are safe. There has been tremendous miscommunication," Jenkins said. "We want to have the building open to serve the public but not in an unsafe place."
 
Marissa Chandler, 38, doesn't feel the building is safe. Chandler, an executive administrative assistant, lives across the street from the library and said her allergy condition has worsened since the asbestos abatement work began. Chandler has been using the Pelham library while the city library was closed.
 
"I'd rather see it closed and people be safe," she said. "Yes I miss it, but people's lives are much more valuable."
The century-old institution — the county's central library — has had a leaky roof for years. Chronic flooding has damaged whole sections and caused mold and other problems.
 
The city floated more than $3 million in bonds to repair the roof and perform other renovations last year. Although the city does not own the building, it has supported the library financially. The project is scheduled to be completed Oct. 15.
 
If the results show high levels of the carcinogen, Lee said, the board has considered temporarily setting up shop at the Doles Community Center or at the city's Armory.
 

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