A tipster passes along word that all the tenants of the PS 122 Community Center at 150 First Ave. are out of the building now, and construction on the DCA-funded interior code renovations will start any day now. Yesterday, PS 122 officials turned over the keys to the contractor. The building at East Ninth Street will undergo a three-year renovation.
Per the tipster: "The project is exciting, and will be a great asset to the neighborhood. This isn't some private developer coming in and taking a piece of East Village history away."
PS 122 will use space in Greenpoint for its office, and employ venues around the city for its various productions. (Read more about all this in a recent article at TheaterMania.)
Among other things, the renovated space, first put to use by PS 122 in 1980, will have an elevator, new stairwells and full ADA compliance.
Find a sneak peek of one of the new floor layouts here. Find more updates and the performance schedule at the PS 122 website here.
16 comments:
3 years? Didn't they build the Empire State Building in about 1 year?
Wasn't this school under renovations for years? I remember scaffolding for years, and now more?
Victoria,
This is different. It's about making the building ADA compliant.
I went here for OpenHouse NY 2010. Scaffolding was for the exterior (nice job).
inside was.. interesting/cool/old school (haha). The tour guide told us the yard will be made into public space (wooooo).
what about PS #64 on 10th and avenue B?!?!?!?
i'm sure that cultural centers like this one are proud of the upgrades, and i'm sure the space will look great in 3 yrs; but, it is just another place in the neighborhood that people in the neighborhood will be less likely to be able to afford to go to when all is done. Instead of serving the underserved around them, they'll just be bringing in more and more outsiders who could care less about our community. progress - good for them, sad for us.
And let's not forget that they threw out Children's Liberation Day Care, a long-time neighborhood fixture, so they could upgrade for the SATC masses and add a bar.
bowery boy
Actually the ticket price for a performance in the new space should remain at around the $20-$25 mark, even cheaper with packages.
Would you have preferred that the city had sold the building to a developer, and yet another overpriced condo go up? Or do you feel the plan for three theater spaces, two galleries, artist studios and other spaces is not a value to the community. What would you prefer?
Anonymous 1:55pm,
Children's Liberation Day Care were not "thrown out". They were offered temporary accommodations while asbestos and lead paint abatement were going on. They refused to leave, therefore placing the children in danger.
The Administration for Children’s Services disbanded them, not the tenants of the building.
They also refused to pay any rent increases over more than 10 years, placing the burden of increasing heating and maintenance costs on the other non-profit tenants.
Admin appears to delete my posts (cause after 35 years here I'm not "one of us"?)
But I do await BBs response to some of the other responses to his comment.
3 years to put in an elevator and some safety compliance??? Fire the contractors!
- East Villager
Anonymous 2:20AM,
It's a little more than that. Its a full interior gut renovation, no interior walls will stay. Then there's a new core being added and a new fifth floor.
Three years is a worst case estimate, two is more likely.
Plus, as it's a city project, any changes during construction have to go through a strict vetting process, which takes time.
Anon, thanks for the Hobson's choice, I'll pass, but I'm sure there were more than 2 options for this space.
had it not been for the day care center and the few other "community services" that are no longer at PS122, it never could have been saved.
it was never intended to be an artist sanctuary.
the artists were part of a larger plan, not the plan.
a theater lobby and bar are not neighborhood resources.
there was a lot of hostility between tenants at the end but certainly the day care center, a real (and the last) neighborhood resource, should have been given real assistance, not the false public relations crap from elected officials and the community board.
Both my kids went to Children's Liberation. They were the nicest, most dedicated people in the world. They were doing a huge service to the neighborhood community by helping out the unprivileged families. You threw them out for what ? A private bar ? private party spaces ? sickening.
This neighborhood will always miss the sound of the little kids laughter in the courtyard.
I am currently writing a piece for NYU Magazine on the development of the community center. If anyone would be interested in sharing their opinion with me on this matter I would love to set up an email/phone interview. Let me know!!
Ruth.
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