Harckham, Abinanti Secure $400K Funding for Mt. Pleasant Library Children's Room

(Peekskill, NY) Demonstrating their strong support for public libraries, Senator Pete Harckham, 40th Senate District, and Assemblymember Tom Abinanti, Assembly District 92, announced today a combined total of nearly $400,000 in funding to modernize and renovate the Children’s Room in the Mount Pleasant Public Library in Pleasantville.

“My commitment to our public libraries is strong,” said Senator Pete Harckham. Today, I’m thrilled to announce that over $140,000 in SED library construction funding is going to the Mount Pleasant Public Library, a thriving community gathering place for our children, families, students and seniors. My colleague, Assemblymember Tom Abinanti, has secured a $250,000 State Aid to Municipalities grant for the same construction project at the library. These combined funds of nearly $400,000, will be used to modernize and improve the Children’s Room. In total, this year, the libraries in my district are receiving nearly $500,000 in awards and aid through the NYS Senate - including nearly $240,000 in SED library construction awards and a total of $250,000 in bullet aid funding ($13,889 for each SD40 library) that I secured for miscellaneous improvements.”

Assemblymember Tom Abinanti said, “Libraries are an education center, a research center and a community center. Getting State grants to our local libraries is among the best way to lower property taxes and bring State taxes back home.”

The funds awarded to the Mt. Pleasant Public Library will be used for various improvements including new LED lighting, furnishings, a new ceiling and the reconfiguration of the room for more modern uses. The library, which is a joint municipal library for the Town of Mt. Pleasant and the Village of Pleasantville, is currently surveying the community on how to use the money to further upgrade the Children’s Room. The library has an active children’s program including story times for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, family story times, evening “pajama” story times and musical concerts for children.

Mayor Peter Scherer, Pleasantville, said, “We’re delighted that Senator Harckham and Assemblymember Abinanti have secured this new funding for our library. This long-standing model of shared services between the Village of Pleasantville and the Town of Mount Pleasant is an anchor for our community, and we deeply appreciate the support of the Senator and Assemblymember.”

Carl Fugenzi, Town Supervisor, Town of Mt. Pleasant said, “The Town of Mount Pleasant appreciates the efforts of Senator Harckham and Assemblyman Abinanti in securing the funding for the essential improvements to the Mount Pleasant Public Library. All in our community, especially our children, will benefit from the upgrades made to the Children’s room. We look forward to seeing this project come to fruition.” 

John Fearon, Library Director, Mount Pleasant Public Library, said, “The Mount Pleasant Public Library is fortunate to be jointly funded by two municipalities, the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Village of Pleasantville, that are committed to supporting top class library services. Their strong support of the Library has enabled us to grow, and to be able to successfully respond to new challenge and new demands.

However, each municipality is highly sensitive to the pressures on local tax payers. To that end, the support that the Library has received from its elected representatives at the New York State level is invaluable. The grants that have been received from New York State have supported a number of important infrastructure projects, such as a roof replacement and the upgrading the Library’s HVAC system. 

These latest grants continue that tradition. The Library is currently running a community-based planning process for children’s services. That process will result in recommendations for improvements to the Children’s Room. These grants will allow the Library Board to commit to realizing those recommendations. As a result, thousands of children across the Library’s community will benefit.”