Mulberry Street Library — Attraction in New York

I've never had a more unpleasant or unwelcoming experience at a library.

My boyfriend and I visited for the first time and were unsure where to sit. When I asked a staff member at the children’s floor, if we could sit anywhere, she abruptly said “Nope!” without offering any further clarification. The man working at the last floor told us we couldn’t sit in the area we chose and told us "you could sit there, I guess" and pointed us to a room at the back.

When I tried to open a library card afterwards, the same male staff member mumbled through the process, making it hard to understand him, it almost felt like he was purposely trying to speak even lower, and he even let someone cut ahead of my boyfriend in line while he was also trying to open a library card. The process for my application only took about 3-5 minutes but he told my boyfriend to wait and step aside while he let the woman behind us skip him, her request ended up taking longer than what opening his library card would've taken.

Overall, the staff were dismissive and unhelpful, leaving us feeling uncomfortable. I was excited to get a library card, but instead, I left disappointed and ready to leave as soon...

Pretty dreadful, actually. The space is fabulous and they have the ability to accomplish so much... And yet they do not seem to do so.

There are no restrooms at all. None in three floors of library. This is unacceptable.

A few people told me that the reason there were no public restrooms is because they had issues with homeless people... Perhaps that security guard who constantly sits in the Teen section reading newspapers could do something?!

This place has the potential to be a great space for all, however the only people they seem to care about are kids. I'm not saying children should not have their space, but literally everybody else does as well.

EDIT REVIEW: The library now offers bathrooms. Some things change, others don't.

One thing that clearly didn't change was the useless...

The architecture and layout (let's call it "vibes") are cool, but collaborating to get something done with someone else is frowned upon in practice.

I met someone there yesterday to get help with my resume. The other person had a laptop, so having charging ports available was helpful. But there is no level of quietness you can speak with that won't trigger staff asking you to move somewhere else—and of course no alternative is offered. I live in Queens and can't think of a branch in Queens where I had such an unpleasant experience. (I was not about to ask the other person to come to Queens in between appointments.)

I visited in April 2025, so restrooms are open again. Also, there are three floors, but there is also...