Monarflex in Manhattan
08-10-2008
Certainly, all complete exterior renovations present challenges. But when the exterior in question is that of the Mid-Manhattan Library in New York City, the challenges are particularly complex and varied. In addition to protecting the workers and securing the site, protecting pedestrians was of particular concern in this situation, due to the high volume of traffic on Fifth Avenue and 40th Street. Area retail operations had to continue unimpeded. And closing the library café’s 400-foot long outdoor dining area, located underneath project scaffolding, was not an option. When faced with these challenges, the contracting firm of Nicholson & Galloway found a solution: Monarflex.
The Mid-Manhattan Library is the main circulating library in the New York Public Library system. The facility is undergoing an extensive $120 million dollar complete exterior renovation and expansion project that will add an additional eight floors and 117,000 square feet for library service to the existing building, while creating a 20,000-square foot ground floor space for rental to a prominent retailer. The project, which is in its first year, will be phased over a total of three years.
Nicholson & Galloway has been a Siplast Select Contractor for many years, and installed the Monarflex system easily. The sheeting has been in place for three months, and will remain until December protecting the site, the workers, and even the customers dining at the umbrella-topped café tables a few feet away.
Sheila Cockrell, Icopal US