Levels Teen Center Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Picnic and Rally

Levels, the Great Neck Library's teen center, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The center celebrated this milestone on Saturday, June 22, with its annual birthday picnic at Kings Point Park, followed by a gathering at Levels from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Levels was conceived in 1974 by library director Joseph Covino as a place where teens can have a say in what they do and enjoy an autonomy they can't always have in the rest of the world. To achieve this, a multipurpose, multipurpose room in the main library was designed by Great Neck architect Michael Harris Spector, featuring the multiple platforms, steps and levels that give the venue its name. Levels' original director, Ed Amrhein, later grew the program into a thriving home for Great Neck teens.

Today, it continues to be both a meeting and gathering place, as well as a cultural and arts center where teens can learn to create their own projects in music, theater, video, visual arts, and more, with the mentorship of six adult artists currently working in their fields (three of whom are former Levels teens themselves). There is also a Jr. Levels program for 5th and 6th graders where they can create their own films, puppet shows, art projects, and more.

Over those 50 years, the program has evolved to adapt to the times, but the spirit of Levels has always been the same, giving teens the chance to make decisions and take ownership of the program. Levels' teen alumni include Tony and Emmy Award winners and Oscar nominees, as well as many other people who have achieved success in fields that have nothing to do with the arts – but still use the skills in leadership and responsibility that they acquired while working on Levels projects.

If you're a teen in seventh grade and up, check out the Levels website at greatnecklibrary.org/levels-is, or stop by the library's 159 Bayview Ave. Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 3 p.m. to midnight, or Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight, and see for yourself what the levels are all about!

For more information about Levels and the 50th anniversary celebration, please contact Levels at 516-466-8055 ext. 216, or email Barry Weil at [email protected].