New Brooklyn library breaks ground on former African burial ground

Construction has begun on a new library in East New York, Brooklyn. The New Lots Library, at about 25,000 square feet, is being built on the site of an African burial ground in New York City; the Brooklyn Public Library, builder Gilbane and the East New York African Burial Ground Collective held a ground acknowledgement ceremony on October 29 to honour those buried at the site, and work has now begun. (Photo: file photo of the Brooklyn Public Library.)

The burial ground’s history: formally recognised in 2013

The land is part of African Burial Ground Square, the resting place of free and enslaved African people, which was formally designated in 2013 after decades of advocacy by community leaders. The 1950s concrete library building that stood there has recently been demolished. The site, at 655 New Lots Avenue, sits across from the Dutch Reformed Church, built in 1823, and its 1840s cemetery.

Mass-timber design with an adult learning centre

Designed by MASS Design Group and Marble Fairbanks Architects, the new building uses a mass-timber structure and will include separate areas for children, teens and adults, flexible meeting rooms, outdoor reading and reflection spaces, a music room and exhibition areas, plus the New Lots Adult Learning Center, offering literacy programmes, high-school equivalency preparation and citizenship classes. The library is expected to open in early 2028.

More than $9.5 million in public funding

The project has received more than $4.5 million in government grants, announced by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council Deputy Leader Chris Banks and state Sen. Roxanne Persaud. The New York State Council on the Arts is providing a further $5 million in capital funding, with support from the governor’s office and the state Legislature.

(Sources: New York Construction Report, Brownstoner, MASS Design Group, November 5, 2026.)