More details on plans for the former P.S. 64

[Bobby Williams]

As the photo from yesterday shows, workers continue to clear out the former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center. Per the building permit on file with the city: "INTERIOR DEMOLITION OF NON LOAD BEARING PARTITIONS."

As you know, there are plans on file to convert the building into a 500-bed dorm called University House on East Ninth Street just east of Avenue B. Earlier in the month, developer Gregg Singer said that he already had a 15-year agreement for 200 of the beds with Cooper Union, as The Wall Street Journal first reported.

And Singer sat down with The Villager for a lengthy feature in this week's issue.

A few highlights of what Singer says will be a state-of-the-art facility:

The basement — formerly home to a 400-seat auditorium where F.D.R. once riled the masses, and where the Fringe Festival was staged — would now house a bike room, fitness center, TV lounge and game rooms outfitted with pool, ping-pong and foosball tables, along with Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

And how about the idea of bringing 500-students into a residential neighborhood?

“Manhattan has almost 2 million people. These kids are already coming to the East Village,” [Singer] said.

“They are putting three to four students in studios around here,” he noted. “This is a safe and managed environment. Isn’t that better than cramming them in all these brownstones?”

And!

“Unused as an elementary school since 1977, the century-old structure sat empty for the past 11 years,” reads an April 18 press release on the University House dorm. “The building occupies much of the city block, where its vacancy has inhibited local development and the growth of small businesses in the neighborhood.”

Councilmember Rosie Mendez is not pleased with the developments here.

Mendez said she met with Cooper President Bharucha to voice her displeasure.

“I told him I’m not happy with this dorm plan, the community is not happy,” she said. “There will be protests, and I will be joining in when that happens.”

Read the whole article here.

Meanwhile, as we noted Tuesday, the East Village Community Coalition started a petition campaign that reads:

COMMUNITY USE - NOT DORMITORY

Respect our community. Respect this community treasure: Old P.S. 64 located at 605 East 9th Street.

Old P.S. 64, a designated New York City landmark, has a long and valued history serving our community. This building could easily serve our community again. Dormitory use of this building does not serve our community. Cooper Union should not house students in old P.S. 64.

We ask that old P.S. 64 be returned to use for our community.

Find the petition here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

2 new sidewalk bridges arrive as city disapproves latest plan for P.S. 64

Petition campaign asks: 'Return PS 64 to the Community'

From the EV Grieve inbox... via the East Village Community Coalition...

COMMUNITY USE - NOT DORMITORY

Respect our community. Respect this community treasure: Old P.S. 64 located at 605 East 9th Street.

Old P.S. 64, a designated New York City landmark, has a long and valued history serving our community. This building could easily serve our community again. Dormitory use of this building does not serve our community. Cooper Union should not house students in old P.S. 64.

We ask that old P.S. 64 be returned to use for our community.

Find the petition here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

Report: Former PS 64 one step closer to becoming a 500-bed dorm for multiple NYC colleges

Construction equipment arrives at former P.S. 64

Construction equipment has arrived on the East 10th Street side of the former P.S. 64 this morning, as these photos by EVG reader Jeffrey Marsh show...





Per Jeffrey: "As far as I can tell, they are just removing rubble at this point."

The building permit on display reads: "INTERIOR DEMOLITION OF NON LOAD BEARING PARTITIONS."



There are plans on file to convert the former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center into a 500-bed dorm called University House.

On Monday, developer Gregg Singer said that he already had a 15-year agreement for 200 of the beds with Cooper Union, as The Wall Street Journal first reported.

The city disapproved the first round of plans for the building on April 1, as DOB records show.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

2 new sidewalk bridges arrive as city disapproves latest plan for P.S. 64

Report: Former PS 64 one step closer to becoming a 500-bed dorm for multiple NYC colleges

[Last October on East Ninth Street]

The former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street will house students from several New York colleges, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

University House will be home to 500 co-eds, with Cooper Union already signing a 15-year agreement for 200 of the beds.

Developer Gregg Singer said that he "expects rents to be about $1,550
per month per bed," according to the Journal.

Singer said that the renovations will cost nearly $40 million. Amenities of the University House will include a health center, private study rooms and a fitness center.

The brief appears on page A22 today. We did not spot the article online. Find the article here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

If these plywood walls could talk...

In the last week, several messages have gone up on the plywood outside the former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street... Building owner Gregg Singer filed plans to renovate the space into dorms for an unspecified school on Feb. 12. (The city disapproved the first round of plans on April 1.)

Jefferson Siegel sums it up this way in the current issue of The Villager:

Neighborhood animosity has boiled for years over owner Gregg Singer’s attempts to develop the location for various uses, including as a 27-story university dormitory. At one point, angered by the opposition, Singer threatened to turn the building into a drug rehab center. The old school was eventually landmarked and now Singer and his partners are trying to retrofit it as a student dorm once again, according to plans filed with the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Now to a few of the messages spotted on the politically charged plywood since the latest plans for the use of the space were revealed:




[Photo via MoRUS]


[Photos via MoRUS]

As for the fire on East Ninth Street late last Friday night... the Post noted this on Wednesday:

Authorities are hot on the trail of a group of inadvertent firebugs.

The suspects set a bonfire on an East Village sidewalk to stay warm but accidentally set three cars on fire, cops said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

Something new in the works for PS 64?; plus sidewalk bridge expiration anniversary

2 new sidewalk bridges arrive as city disapproves latest plan for P.S. 64

[Bobby Williams]

Workers arrived Tuesday to begin erecting new sidewalk sheds on East Ninth Street at the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center.



According to DOB records, the city disapproved developer Gregg Singer's latest round of plans, filed on Feb. 12, for the building on Monday.



Per the all-caps job descrioption:
CONVERSTION OF EXISTING BUILDING TO COLLEGE STUDENT DORMITORY (UG 3). RELOCATION OF FLOOR AREA TO ADD MEZZANINE.

But, as DOB records show, the dorm would be contained within the existing structure... and it would not look like — remember these plans? — this...

[OLD PLANS]

No word on who the dorm would be for... just like the other mysterious dorm project at 35 Cooper Square.

Anyway, given the history here, it should be another 10 years before any construction occurs. Singer bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. Aside from a whole lot of neighborhood drama, not much has been happening with the space since then. (For background: The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.)

As an aside, a reader recently noted that an entryway on East Ninth Street was wide open one recent Sunday... no one in sight... perhaps a good chance for some urban exploration...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

Something new in the works for PS 64?; plus sidewalk bridge expiration anniversary

Something new in the works for PS 64?; plus sidewalk bridge expiration anniversary

[Last week on East Ninth Street]

EVG reader @fashionbyhe sent along the photo below, asking what was going on with the former PS 64 and noting that the permits for the sidewalk bridge expired...

...on Sept. 29, 2011.

[Bobby Williams]

Aside from noting the one-year anniversary of the sidewalk bridge's expiration date, there is some other activity to report here at the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street and 10th Street just east of Avenue B.

Tomorrow night, there's a CB3 Landmarks Subcommittee meeting. And on the agenda:

Certificate of Appropriateness: Proposal for window replacement project, as part of façade restoration project, at former PS 64/ 605 E 9th street

The windows could use a good replacing, as you can see here on the East 10th Street side.

On Aug. 8, the DOB disapproved a plan to repair and restore the façade, a job with an estimated cost of $510,000, per city documents.

Of course, the building's controversial owner, Gregg Singer, reportedly had workers hack away at the ornate dormer windows and terra cotta trim back in 2006. Could have saved himself some future trouble by keeping everything intact.

In addition, city records show that there is a new architect of record on the permits — Mark Ginsberg of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLC. (Among many other projects, the firm designed the plans for turning the former PS 90 in Harlem into 75 apartments and a community space. However, PS 64 was landmarked in 2006; the property deed limits the property to community use.)

Singer is still listed at the DOB as the owner of 605 E. Ninth St. He bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. Aside from a whole lot of neighborhood drama, not much has been happening with the space for 10-plus years. (There's not enough time in the day to get into all the history here since 1998. The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.)

In March, a deed for "community facility use only" arrived at Massey Knakal, who noted, "Ideally, the highest and best use for the property would be to renovate the existing structure and convert it into a modern school or college dormitory." (No price was listed.)

The listing is no longer on the Massey Knakal site. So, a question that people have have been asking for years remains: Will something finally happen to the space now?

Meanwhile, we do know what has been going on with the former school, at least on the East 10th Street side: Some folks have created temporary housing under the sidewalk bridge...

[BW]

[BW]

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[EVG]

[EVG]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

The saga continues for the former P.S. 64, now entering its 10th year of sitting empty. A listing for 350 E. 10th St. appeared today at Massey Knakal. Here are the details:

The property is currently an approximate 152,000 rentable square foot H-shaped building located in the heart of the East Village, adjacent to Tompkins Square Park. The structure runs block-through from East 9th Street to East 10th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C and features 150’ of frontage on both sides of the block. The property previously operated as a public school and is situated to become a tremendous benefit to the neighborhood as there continues to be a shortage of educational facilities throughout New York City. Ideally, the highest and best use for the property would be to renovate the existing structure and convert it into a modern school or college dormitory. Numerous educational and institutional campus’s are located just a few blocks away from the subject and their student body continues to grow year after year creating an on-going demand for student housing. Prospective users have a rare opportunity to redevelop and transform this 100 year old building into a new modern facility which will provide a variety of educational options.

So, as you know, there's a long, complicated history here. Briefly. Gregg Singer bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. His plan: a 23-story megadorm. But, in the face of strong community opposition, he was never able to get those plans off the ground, and the building sits rotting (with help from the owner). The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.

The new marketing materials come with some fresh renderings...

Anyway, we've seen rebranding campaigns here before... such as in 2009.


This past November, a handful of East Village residents met at Theatre 80 to discuss the possibility of turning the space into a community center and nonprofit space.

Will something finally happen to the space now?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Video of 'CHARAS Comes Home For The Holidays' yesterday, with footage of the arrests

Here's more on yesterday's CHARAS holiday party and community potluck that ended with several arrests. Per the description from YouTube:

A community get together at CHARAS/El Bohio marking the 10th anniversary of the eviction from the building at 605 E. 9th St in the East Village/Lower East Side, New York City.

The party, led by the Hungry March Band, marched over from Tompkins Square Park to the boarded up building. Performers roped off an impromptu stage and began entertaining the crowd. Perfomers included Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping "Earthalujah" choir; Great Small Works performing "the true story of charas"; and several speakers including carlos chino garcia. The occupy wall street statue of liberty puppet also made an appearance.

At the end the crowd was asked to join in on a protest action involving banging on the blue construction fence with wooden sticks. As they did so, the police began mobilizing and several arrests were made. Gregg Singer the developer was also seen walking past the building.

The arrests start at the 21-minute mark. The Observer reported that the NYPD arrested three people.

Previously on EV Grieve:
'CHARAS Comes Home For The Holidays' ends with arrests

Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

'Public Assembly' for the former P.S. 64 on Friday

'CHARAS Comes Home For The Holidays' ends with arrests

Today, members of the community as well as Occupy Wall Street came together to mark the 10th anniversary of the eviction of CHARAS (aka El Bohio Community Center) on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. (A flyer for the event is here.)

People met at noon... and, led by the Hungry March Band, paraded through Tompkins Square Park for a "holiday party and community potluck" — dubbed "Charas Comes Home For The Holidays" — on Ninth Street. Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping "Earthalujah" choir were among the performers.

Bobby Williams was along for first leg of the parade...

According to The Observer, the NYPD arrested several people on Ninth Street ... As The Observer's Henry Krempels wrote:

As the banging progressively grew louder the New York Police Department became aware of the disruption, dispatching five cars which pulled up only minutes after the drumming began. From then on, they attempted to get the situation under control, resulting in at least three arrests and numerous confrontations. Police at the scene declined to comment on what those arrested were charged with, and as The Observer was leaving one of the arrestees was let out of the car, but remained in handcuffs.

The crowd, who were ushered to the other side of the street, stood on the sidewalk chanting “Viva Charas!” and “Tear it Down!” while officers cleaned up the mess.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

'Public Assembly' for the former P.S. 64 on Friday

Tomorrow in Tompkins Square Park: CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center celebration

Stars at noon... with a march over to the former CHARAS/PS 64 space on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...

You can read more about this here in The Villager this week.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

'Public Assembly' for the former P.S. 64 on Friday

'Public Assembly' for the former P.S. 64 on Friday

Oh boy it has been a long time since we've discussed the old P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio community center behind the Christodora House.

First, though. We spotted these flyers on Avenues A, B and C in the past few days...

As you can see, it's advertising a meeting Friday night from 6-9 at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place... dubbed as a "public assembly" to discuss the long-dormant space. However, there isn't any contact information or sponsor listed.

So we reached out to Kurt Cavanaugh at the East Village Community Coalition, a group that led the effort to successfully landmark the building. However, Cavanaugh told us that his group had nothing to do with the meeting. (We're waiting to hear back from Lorcan Otway at Theatre 80 to see if he can tell us who is behind the meeting.)



Anyway, there's a long, complicated history here. Briefly. Gregg Singer bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. His plan: a 23-story megadorm. But, in the face of strong community opposition, he was never able to get those plans off the ground, and the building sits rotting (with help from the owner). The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.

In August 2009, there was a rebranding campaign for the space...



According to marketing materials (PDF) that (the now defunct) HelmsleySpear circulated, the landmarked space at 350 East 10th Street (and an aside, the rebranding was not using the 605 E. Ninth St. address) was now known as University House at Tompkins Square Park.

A quick vision of Hell...



We go back to May 2010 for the last news on the space. The Villager reported that a man named Kim Barton wanted to transform the space into the Tower School, a 600-student, nonprofit, independent school.

There are still three active permits here. One for installing a fence ... one for installing a sidewalk shed ... and one for removing some plumbing fixtures.

So here we are. Anyone have any updates? Tips? Gossip? Please send them our way via the EV Grieve email

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Of course, the old P.S. 64 would make a fine home

Obviously a mistake. But. Think of all the closet space. And the basketball court. And the cafeteria. The ConEd bill might be a little much though.

Nightmare on Ninth Street: Is the megadorm project alive again?

When I noticed that the sidewalk shed at the former P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio community center behind the Christodora on Ninth Street had been removed, I revisited previous posts on the topic... such as this one from last summer announcing the rebranded project: the University House at Tompkins Square Park.



You can read that post here.

The attempts to redevelop this space has a long, complicated history... Gregg Singer, the building's owner, unsuccessfully tried for years to get a megadorm project off the ground. In March 2009, Singer told The Villager that he's still an investor, but he had moved "onto other stuff." His megadorm was shot down by a judge two years ago.

I did a little more searching for the University House at Tompkins Square Park and this popped up ...



Whoa.

This is all probably part of the old plans (or a hoax!), except that it was, as I understand it, only branded University House at Tompkins Square Park last summer. And, interestingly enough, this is a standalone Web page that lives under the Singer domain, but you can't access it from the Singer Financial Corporation site. I found it via a Google search.

Regardless, this is the first time that I've seen the above rendering in about six years ... If anything, then maybe this can serve as a "what could have been" ... Here is some info from the Web site, which lists that the project will completed in July 2010/11... (You can find all the floorplans here.)

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY
A through block site just off Tompkins Square Park to be developed into a 23-story school dormitory in the East Village of Manhattan.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
University House will be a consortium of universities sharing a single state of the art facility. There are single room suites and double room suites, all of which have kitchens and bathrooms. The universities will be able to secure housing designed, operated and managed for students at affordable rents with amenities not found in apartment buildings or hotels.

This safe and affordable residence hall will provide beautiful views of Tompkins Square Park to the west and the East River to the east providing sun drenched living spaces for all its inhabitants.

AMENITIES
Amenities include wireless internet access throughout the interior and exterior common areas, an outdoor garden, basketball court, a world class fitness center with separate areas for weight training, cardio fitness, stretching and dance/aerobics, lounge, common and private study rooms hard wired with internet access outlets, music rooms, game room with pool tables and ping pong tables, TV screening room, laundry room, and bicycle storage room. Private offices for university staff.

Be curious to find out what, if anything, is going on here... No new work permits have been posted via the DOB. And for a crash course on the headlines through the years, here's a link to the East Village Community Coalition, who collected many of the articles on the project. (Mostly via The Villager!) And here are some from Curbed.