North Philadelphians urge Jeffery Young to move Cecil B. Moore Library renovations forward

On the day of City Council’s final session before its summer recess, a group of North Philly community members delivered a message to their Council member, Jeffery Young Jr.: Get on with it.

Members of the Save the Cecil B. Moore Library Coalition gathered Thursday outside City Hall to bring attention to the dire conditions of their Free Library of Philadelphia branch, and how renovations are being held up by Young.

The library was scheduled to begin a construction project through the city’s Rebuild initiative last fall, but Young has opted to explore other options for the site. Instead, he has primarily pursued a project that would involve building housing on top of a newly constructed library, despite resounding pushback from community members.

“Jeffery Young, we won’t wait, release the funds and renovate!” the dozen coalition members chanted.

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; this HVAC system should have been fixed 20 years ago,” said Jordan Holbert, co-leader of the Brewerytown Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition (BSNC).

The branch has closed twice this week because temperatures were too high for its original 1962 HVAC system to handle.

“The issues we’re seeing at Cecil B. Moore are not isolated; they reflect decades of underfunding and postponed repairs across Philadelphia’s public libraries,” Young told The Inquirer. “This systemic neglect has made renovations more costly and complicated, and it’s something we urgently need to fix with real investments.”

After the outdoor demonstrations wrapped, the coalition members joined other interest groups in Council chambers, where each organization looked to persuade city government to take up its preferred cause during time reserved for public comment.

Jackie Wiggins, a member of the Friends of the Cecil B. Moore Library and a North Philly community historian, said she was a fifth grader when the library opened. She spoke about its namesake’s leadership and how he sat in the City Council seat that Young now occupies.

“He stood for what was needed. And today, we need this library fixed,” she said.

While other libraries have begun and completed renovation projects in the time since Cecil B. Moore’s plans were approved, the North Philly library remains at a standstill.

The Rebuild renovations slated to begin last year would have originally cost about $1 million, but community groups and lawmakers secured $5.3 million for a larger revitalization project, which would include a new HVAC system, plumbing, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, and exterior improvements. Those designs were finalized and set for bids last year, but Young had other ideas.

The Council member, who filled outgoing Council President Darrell L. Clarke’s seat last year, secured an additional $5 million in the city’s 2025 capital budget and proposed the hybrid affordable housing-library project. Young’s “colocated spaces” proposal was meant to address housing insecurity in the neighborhood, and would include modern, technology-focused spaces. It is projected to cost $20 million, but Young had yet to secure the extra $10 million required.

At a contentious town-hall meeting in March, several hundred North Philadelphians and coalition members shouted down Young and his proposal and said he was not listening to them. Weeks later, Young told The Inquirer’s Jenice Armstrong that he would no longer be pursuing the housing option.

» READ MORE: North Philly neighbors shout down Councilmember Young’s plan to replace their library

Cierra Freeman, director of the BSNC and co-leader of the Save the Cecil B. Moore Library Coalition, said Young never gave that commitment to community and coalition members directly, despite their pleas.

“We definitely don’t understand, with so many neighbors making it clear what they want, and still nothing is happening,” Freeman said.

She said Young’s office has been mostly unresponsive to the coalition’s communications and requests, including for assigning a satellite location for the library once the construction project eventually begins.

“This project was supposed to start a year ago, so I don’t think it’s wrong for us to ask, ‘Hey, can we get this started? Can we work with you to get this started?’”

The Council member said during Thursday’s session that another concern he had with the Rebuild renovation plan was that its proposed teen center was too small, and would not be an adequate attraction to keep young people from dangerous alternatives.

“I am committed to working with the community, city leadership, and all stakeholders to secure the resources needed to keep the libraries safely open now and provide the respect they deserve for the future. I am open to continuing conversations with all who come in good faith to work toward these goals,” Young said.

Cecil B. Moore is not the only Free Library branch in need of repairs, especially as the weather heats up. Seven branches were closed because of overheating and cooling issues on Thursday, and the Richmond Library and Paschalville Library branches remained closed indefinitely because of long-standing Rebuild projects that have not come to fruition.

This story was updated with the titles of members of the Save the Cecil. B Moore Library Coalition.