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Knicks star Jamal Crawford, in partnership with the nonprofit organization PENCIL, left a lasting legacy for New York City last week when he funded the complete refurbishment of PS 58’s library in the Bronx.

Crawford first visited PS 58, located in the East Tremont section of the Bronx, with PENCIL, an organization that focuses on customizing partnerships between New York City schools and business leaders to improve student achievement. Together, they have cultivated a partnership that will change the K-5 students at PS 58’s lives forever.

"I made a promise to Principal Gunn last fall when I first partnered with the School through PENCIL," said Crawford. "The state of the school's library was unacceptable, and we agreed that the students deserved far better in order to get excited about reading and learning. I'm confident they will take full advantage of what this newly renovated library has to offer.

Crawford funded the entire $75,000 dollar project through his Jamal Crawford Foundation, whose mission is to "provide inner-city children with experiences and activities to strengthen both their minds and bodies, leading to well-rounded and complete adults."

The Jamal Crawford Library now includes new furniture, bookshelves, tables, chairs, carpeting, a fresh coat of paint, a computer station and a collection of new reading materials.

"The library looks really nice," said one student. "It is cool that a Knicks player came here and did this for us."

Knicks announcer Gus Johnson emceed the ribbon-cutting festivities, which included a musical performance by the school's band, a gift-giving ceremony and Crawford reading Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go to a group of children.

After cutting the ribbon, Crawford entered the library for the first time, and his jaw dropped wide open.

“It looks nothing like it did last year,” he said. “I'm blown away. This isn’t even the same place. Principal Gunn had to convince me this is the same place I was in last year. The people that played a part did a fantastic job. The kids even painted a mural on the wall, which looks great. It’s all very touching.

“To me, having a functional library is everything.It’s more important than anything else. It’s more important than having a new gym floor because you can do a lot more with it and can go a lot more places with it. Having your education and being able to come to a library like this, you get excited to come here. The kids won’t be in a rush to get out of school anymore hopefully. These kids are really eager to learn, and they do care about their education. I just wanted to help as much as I can.”