Library still dealing with flood damage

Riverhead Free Library has been forced to cancel or relocate many of its programs as it continues to cope with flood damage from last month’s rainstorm.

Some programs have been moved to the senior center in Aquebogue, Cornell Cooperative Extension on Griffing Avenue or other areas in the library, such as the children’s center.

“We’re sort of making it work, little by little,” Ms. Jacobs said. “The hard part is that we don’t know when it’s going to be fixed … we don’t know yet if we’re going to get any coverage from our insurance company.”

At its worst, about three to four inches of water filled the basement, which houses two meeting rooms, a staff lounge and space for art exhibits, said library director Lisa Jacobs.

“We basically had standing water for about three or four days during the height of the storm, the week of March 29,” she said.

“We were just pumping, pumping, pumping, and not winning the battle,” Ms. Jacobs said. The cleaning company ServPro, she added, “has come in and taken out all the carpets and taken out sheetrock and insulation.”

The library underwent a $4.6 million renovation about 10 years ago.

Library officials are urging patrons to call 727-3228 and press ‘0’ for the public information desk to find out which programs are still running and where.

MICHAEL WHITE