Façade exploration work continues at the former P.S. 64

Yesterday, workers in a hydraulic lift continued their exploration work on the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center. 

Last week, workers focused on the Ninth Street side between Avenue B and Avenue C. Crews were on 10th Street this time.

Here's what's happening at the long-vacant, landmarked building, according to an email from the East Village Community Coalition: 

As part of ongoing building stabilization and preservation efforts, a bucket lift will be on site as per the schedule below so that preservation architects and engineers can assess existing conditions by gently tapping (sounding) the façade elements with a rubber mallet. This sounding exercise is intended to ensure that the terracotta elements of the façade are safely tied into the building structure and are not in danger of falling. 

Elements that are not safely secured to the building may be removed for public safety purposes, and retained for replication or reinstallation. We have been assured that this work was planned in conversation with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and Landmarks Conservancy, and that the building is not being demolished or harmed in any way. 

In a transaction filed on Jan. 9, an entity going as 605 East 9th Community Holdings LLC bought the property from longtime owner Gregg Singer for $57,267,453, per public records. 

The LLC reportedly (per The Real Deal) has ties to Aaron Sosnick, a billionaire hedge fund manager who lives next door in the Christodora House. Denham Wolf Real Estate Services stated that the LLC is "a philanthropic entity with the purpose of returning the property to community use."

Singer, who bought the building from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.1 million, has wanted to turn the one-time P.S. 64 into a dorm, though those plans never materialized, and the building has sat in disrepair. The 135,000-square-foot building is zoned for “community facility use,” and any conversion to residential housing would require a zoning variance. 

Work on 10th Street occurs again on Sunday between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.