Eastchester High School senior Aron Rodolitz built and installed a Little Free Library at Leewood Park on Tuesday, Sept. 8, completing months of work on his Eagle Scout project for Troop 353.

Town Supervisor Anthony Colavita joined Rodolitz and other local officials at the park for the installation, according to the Eastchester Union Free School District.

The wooden book-sharing box lets residents take and leave reading material for neighbors of all ages. It adds one more station to a network the district started about three years ago, when it placed Little Free Libraries outside each of the town's elementary schools.

Rodolitz said he approached Sally Veltidi, Eastchester's Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, looking for project ideas. She offered several options. He picked the Little Free Library, drawn to the idea of building something from scratch that neighbors could use every day.

He studied other Little Free Libraries around Eastchester to shape his design. Then came the hard part.

"This was my first time ever designing and building something, so there were a lot of setbacks along the way including running out of materials, having to completely rethink and reinforce the base, and cutting the wood to the wrong size," Rodolitz said.

The project took a few months from planning to completion, with more than a month spent on construction alone. Rodolitz had never tackled anything like it, and the learning curve showed in the trial and error of measuring, cutting and reinforcing the structure until it was sturdy enough to stand in a public park.

When the box was finally upright at Leewood Park, Rodolitz said he was glad to see town officials turn out for the moment. He credited fellow scouts and leaders in Troop 353, his parents and his girlfriend Kiara with helping him finish the project.

The new Little Free Library is open at Leewood Park for residents to browse, borrow or donate books.