Richard and Lynne Pasculano Give $15 Million to The New York Public Library for New Adult Learning Center

Media Contact: Angela Montefinise / angelamontefinise@nypl.org

MARCH 10, 2021—Philanthropists Richard and Lynne Pasculano have given The New York Public Library a $15 million gift to support a new adult learning center focused on technology training, career counseling, ESOL classes, and more.

The Pasculano Learning Center—named for the Pasculanos, longtime donors to the Library, in recognition of this latest leadership gift—is on the sixth floor of the Library’s newly-transformed central circulating branch, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL), on Fifth Avenue and 40th Street. The new branch was transformed with the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and New York City. While a small part of the first floor of SNFL is currently open to the public for grab-and-go service, the whole building is not expected to open until later in 2021. 

When it opens, the Center will include classroom space, a media lab, reading spaces, a job search / career counseling area, various collections dedicated to adult learning, and a variety of independent work stations to promote lifelong learning and strengthened skills for New Yorkers and their communities. 

The 20,000-square-foot learning center will be a key part of the transformed central circulating library, designed by architects Francine Houben of Mecanoo and Beyer Blinder Belle. In addition to the Pasculano Learning Center, SNFL will hold hundreds of thousands of books, offer space for programs and classes, include new dedicated centers for children and teens, feature a world-class Business Center, and offer a rooftop event center and outdoor terrace overlooking Fifth Avenue.

“The Library's transformed central circulating library at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue will serve patrons of all ages, standing as a true testament to the importance of lifelong learning,” said New York Public Library President Anthony W. Marx. “The branch's fabulous new Pasculano Learning Center, which will provide adults with the knowledge and tools that they need to open new doors of opportunity, is a key part of that, and we are so grateful to our longtime donors Richard and Lynne Pasculano for their support, vision, and generosity. The New York Public Library, celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2020, was built on a foundation of philanthropy, and this incredible leadership gift from the Pasculanos in support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library is yet another important chapter in that story.”

  Lynne Pasculano is a private investor and philanthropist through the Lebensfeld and Pasculano Foundations, which support the arts, education, and health organizations.  She serves as chair of the collections committee at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, of which she is a former trustee, and is a member of the committee on conservation at MoMA.  She previously served on the boards of the American Classical Orchestra and the Parrish Art Museum in Watermill, NY, where she was a member of the collections committee.  She is married to Richard Pasculano, a former executive vice president of UIS, which manufactured automobile parts, windows and doors, and candy; the company was founded by Mrs. Pasculano’s late father, Harry Lebensfeld. Mr. Pasculano is a former trustee of the Joyce Theater Foundation and was a member of the advisory board of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. 

“After seeing first hand the effects of our prior gifts to the Library's various learning centers, this really was a no-brainer for us,” said Lynne Pasculano. “The branches provide so much to so many people who are unable to afford this type of education and instruction on their own. It's truly remarkable!”

About The New York Public Library

For 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.