Rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64 could take 4 to 6 years, cost over $100 million

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center could take four to six years and cost over $100 million. 

Those were two of the big takeaways from a public informational session this past Friday, where local elected officials, community members and building reps connected to the new ownership of the former P.S. 64 came together to discuss the long-vacant property at 605 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Quamid Francis of Q Impact Solutions led the presentation at the Lower Eastside Girls Club on Eighth Street and Avenue D. Speakers included representatives from Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Denham Wolf Real Estate, speaking on behalf of the property's buyer. 

Here's a quick recap of how we got here these past 20-plus years: According to public records, 605 East 9th Community Holdings LLC bought the property from longtime owner Gregg Singer for $57,267,453 in a transaction filed on Jan. 9. 

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." 

Through the years, Singer, who bought the building from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.1 million, 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." (Any conversion to residential housing would require a zoning variance.) The DOB's Stop Work Order, which dates to August 2015, and is still in effect. The DOB later lifted the Full Vacate Order (from February 2019) to allow inspections by city-licensed engineers.

As previously noted, some residents want to see the space used again as a community center, as it was during its time as Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001. 

The discussion on Friday started with a slideshow presentation and, later, a few questions from the audience.

Francis spoke about objectives, such as shaping the vision and working with elected officials and philanthropists to see what might be possible for and in the building, floor by floor. 

Some ideas that have already been floated:

• The basement space, which holds around 200 people, could be a podcast studio, a space to screen films, and an audio studio. 

• The first floor: A dynamic community space. Elements could include a kitchen, classrooms, and perhaps a catering station. Walls could hold art/exhibition space with a place to hold parties and events. Maybe it could also include a coffee shop. 

• The second floor could have a pottery studio, a bike repair shop and a STEM lab. There could also be a place for young men to fill the void after the Boys Club closed in 2022.

• Third floor: A community organization space, possibly a yoga studio. 

• Fourth floor: A space for visual artists and creators, a dance studio, and a space to store the neighborhood's history and archival materials. 

• Fifth floor: Music practice and acoustic space. 

• Courtyard: An open green space. Ideas included moving the Charlie Parker Festival to the courtyard. 

The architects discussed securing the building, the significant capital investments needed, and testing the façade (tapping the terra cotta, which has been taking place recently). They concluded: "The façade is in good shape — it's a robust building."

The reps from Denham Wolf talked about removing the dead pigeons from the interior and addressing the rodent problem. Other pressing tasks included getting Con Ed to restore power to the building and providing daily security on site. 

Denham Wolf reps also stated the building needs to be further stabilized inside and out in hopes that the Department of Buildings would lift the violations that have been in place for eight years.

After the 75-minute meeting, organizers directed attendees to the lobby and asked them to share their ideas on vision boards, which they could add using Post-It notes.

The presentation leaders said the next steps included establishing and sharing "regular project updates via a website." An urgent need: "Help with securing immediate planning funding to support emergency repairs and overall building development."

Many people told me they were notified privately about this meeting, that it hadn't been publicized. (An item about the meeting was mentioned in an e-newsletter from the Cooper Square Committee last week.) Hopefully, more residents will be notified before the next session, which has not yet been scheduled.