The Gift Is Huge. But How Many Thanks Are Enough? - New York Times

The Gift Is Huge. But How Many Thanks Are Enough? - New York Times: "“There are at least three families with six places of recognition within the building,” Mr. LeClerc said, adding that it was nearly impossible to enter a room of the sprawling building in Midtown without stepping over a dedication carved into the floor or beneath a benefactor’s name written above a doorway. Striding across the Rose Main Reading Room, Mr. LeClerc approvingly repeated a phrase he had heard recently to describe the library: “A billboard to philanthropy.”

But on April 10, Community Board 5 voted to recommend rejecting the library’s proposal to carve the name of a major new donor, for whom the building will be named, on pedestals flanking the Fifth Avenue entrance. The donor is Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, a Wall Street firm, who on March 11 announced his gift of $100 million. Mr. Schwarzman has been a library trustee since 2001."