Bill Text: NY J03255 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Jervis Public Library on July 15, 2020

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-07-22 - ADOPTED [J03255 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-J03255-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 3255

BY: Senator GRIFFO

        COMMEMORATING  the 125th Anniversary of the Jervis
        Public Library on July 15, 2020

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize that
the quality and character of life in the communities  across  the  great
State  of New York is reflective of certain exemplary institutions whose
purpose is dedicated to serving the  community  and  the  needs  of  its
citizenry; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern,  and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this  Legislative  Body  is  justly  proud  to
commemorate  the  125th  Anniversary  of the Jervis Public Library to be
celebrated with a series of free virtual programs on the history of this
vital institution and its founder on Wednesday, July 15, 2020; and

  WHEREAS,  The  library's  founder,  prominent  19th  century   civil
engineer  John  Bloomfield Jervis was born in Huntington, Long Island in
1795, and moved with his family as a three-year-old  to  what  was  then
called Fort Stanwix; and

  WHEREAS,  After attending public schools and working on his father's
farm, John Bloomfield Jervis began his career as an axeman on  the  Erie
Canal which began construction in Rome, New York, on July 4, 1817; and

  WHEREAS,  Apprenticing under Benjamin Wright, the father of American
civil engineering, John Bloomfield Jervis worked his way up  to  rodman,
stone  weigher, surveyor, resident engineer, and eventually was promoted
to superintendent of the eastern section of the Erie Canal; and

  WHEREAS, This extraordinary man went on to have a successful  career
as  chief  or  consulting  engineer on numerous early railroad and canal
projects throughout the eastern United  States,  designing  two  of  the
earliest locomotives to run in the nation; he was also chief engineer of
the  41-mile Croton Aqueduct project, the first reliable water supply to
New York City which was used from 1842 to  1891,  and  featured  Jervis'
1848  Harlem  River High Bridge, the oldest surviving bridge in New York
City; and

  WHEREAS, John Bloomfield Jervis  designed  his  Greek  Revival-style
house  located  at  613  North  Washington  Street  in  Rome,  which  he
bequeathed along with his personal  library  to  the  City  of  Rome  to
establish  a  public library; Jervis Public Library officially opened to
the public on July 15, 1895; and

  WHEREAS, Throughout its  history,  the  Jervis  Public  Library  has
served  hundreds  of  thousands  of people, from all backgrounds and all
ethnicities, with materials and resources only a  public  library  could
provide;  today,  the  library is a vibrant community center serving the
young and old alike, just as it had done 125 years ago; and

  WHEREAS, Steeped in a proud and distinguished  history,  the  Jervis
Public Library may take just pride in its purposeful growth, as it looks

forward   to   continuing   to   serve  the  educational,  cultural  and
intellectual needs of the community; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of the Jervis Public Library  on  July
15, 2020; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Jervis Public Library.