Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The next community informational session about the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center will be held on Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Grand Street Settlement, 80 Pitt St., between Stanton and Rivington on the Lower East Side.
"We're hoping to see a diverse group of community members join us," said Q Impact Solutions founder Quamid Francis, who led the first discussion on Oct. 25. "We anticipate that a plurality of the same information will be covered, as there are no new
significant updates to share at this time. Still, we thought of having another session to accommodate community members who missed the last session during the day." (See our recap post here.)
Speakers include representatives from Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Denham Wolf Real Estate, who will speak on behalf of the property's buyer.
You can find the link to sign up here. (The event link lists a start time of 6:30; the flyer 6.)
Per the invite:
Whether you're a longtime supporter or new to the cause and neighborhood, this informational session will provide valuable updates. Don't miss the opportunity to connect with your fellow community members and engage in meaningful and collaborative discussions!
Francis reached out to EVG regarding the upcoming session.
I also asked for access to the long-empty site on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C to take photos of what the property looks like now.
"I checked with the construction management team, and they unfortunately said they can't grant this request because the Department of Building vacate order extends to the courtyard, primarily due to safety concerns regarding the façade," Francis said. "There are loose brick materials that could drop at any time on the courtyard, so it's still not safe. That said, if you have a ladder you can prop up outside the fence, you are more than welcome to take photos that way. In fact, I'm willing to even meet you there. Let me know what you think."
What did I think? I'm intrepid enough, but I needed to score a ladder. I asked Pastor Will Kroeze and Executive Director Alex Lawrence from Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish across the street to loan me one for this mission — and they came through.
They were also kind enough to grant me access to the church's rooftop for additional images.
And a five-paragraph recap of what has transpired over the 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, 2024.
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 when it was Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001.
After the last meeting in October, many people said they had not received any notice about the public session. We found out about it at the last minute.
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