Report of a small fire inside the empty P.S. 64 building on 9th Street

The FDNY responded to a report of a presumed trash can fire inside the empty building — the former P.S. 64 — at 605 E. Ninth St. last night around 8 ...

The Citizen app reported that firefighters quickly extinguished the small blaze. Witnesses reported that the FDNY cut a padlock and broke through the plywood surrounding the school between Avenue B and Avenue C to get inside the property. 

The fire was said to be contained to the southeast wing. No word on the cause, such as if a squatter was inside the former school. 

EVG reader Alta Tseng shared the top photo and this video clip...

   

Developer Gregg Singer, who bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998, has wanted to turn the building into a dorm called University Square. The DOB continues to maintain a Stop Work Order — dating to August 2015 — on the property. 

In years past several local elected officials, community activists and residents have asked for the return of the building for community use. The building became the Charas/El Bohio Community Center after the school left in 1977. The group was eventually evicted when Singer took over as the landlord. It has sat empty these past 20-plus years, causing locals to be concerned about its crumbling façade. 

H/T Eden and Steven!