[Updated] At the 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY'

‏[Photo by @tenementcity]

We'll have more photos on the "Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY" later this evening ... the rally started around 6 at Cooper Union...


[Photo by @tenementcity]

Updated 8:30

Here are a few more photos from the starting point of the march on East Ninth Street our the former PS 64... which included members of Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Tiny Band and others.


[Bobby Williams]


[BW]


[Dave on 7th]


[Do7]

... all under the watchful eye of the NYPD...


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[BW]

...later at Cooper Union...


[BW]

Updated

Serena Solomon filed a story on the march and rally at DNAinfo. Read that here.

From the article:

March organizer Susan Howard said the eviction, followed by years of watching the building deteriorate, has been a “devastating blow."

"I don't think the owner knows how much damage he has done and how deep the hurt is," said Howard, who is also part of the group Save Our Community Center CHARAS-64 (SOCCC-64).

"It was a cross-pollination of so many people — activists and artists," Howard said of when the building operated as a community center. "You had [singing practice] in the plaza. You had AA meetings in the gallery, computer classes, English classes."

The Villager also has an article today on the march/rally. Find that here.

Per that article:

"There is no room, and no desire, and no way we will live with a dorm in our backyard," declared Councilmember Rosie Mendez, shouting to the crowd from a bullhorn. "Cooper Union needs to rescind whatever deal I believe it doesn't have so Singer can give us back our building," Mendez added.

Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh was equally strident.

"As a community, we have to at some point draw the line and say this is a battle we are not going to lose, and this is a fight we're not going to quit," Kavanagh said.

Reminder: 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY' tonight

Reposted from last week...

Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY
Wednesday, May 15
March starts at CHARAS/El Bohio, 605 E. 9th Street @ 5:00
Cooper Union rally starts @ 6:00

Join us for a march and rally to return old P.S. 64, formerly CHARAS/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center, to our community! Meet at the former site of CHARAS/El Bohio for the march at 5:00 and Cooper Union for the rally at 6:00.

With speakers: CHARAS co-founder Chino Garcia, Council member Rosie Mendez, Assembly member Brian Kavanagh, Senator Brad Hoylman, Students For a Free Cooper Union, & music by members of Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Tiny Band and others.

It is time to ask the City to return the building to the community!

Join us tonight, & spread the word! Meet at the former site of CHARAS/El Bohio for the march at 5:00 and Cooper Union for the rally at 6:00.

Find the Facebook events page here.

-----

And here was the scene last night at MoRUS on Avenue C ... making signs for the march...













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

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Report: The Joffrey Ballet School will lease 2 floors of the former PS 64 for student housing

Report: The Joffrey Ballet School will lease 2 floors of the former PS 64 for student housing

The Joffrey Ballet School has signed on to lease the first two floors of the former PS 64 for student housing, The Wall Street Journal reports today. (You may need a subscription to access the online brief.)

Developer Gregg Singer said that the school, which Robert Joffrey founded in 1953, will take 120 of the beds, with a monthly rental rate of between $1,550 and $1,650. While the school has a dorm on Grove Street, there is a wait list for rooms for the dance students, some of whom are high school age.

"The dormitories are important for us because they create a safe, comfortable environment," Lee Merwin, director of operations at Joffrey Ballet School, told the Journal.

Previously, the Journal reported that Cooper Union has an agreement in place for 200 of the beds at the former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street near Avenue B.

Some residents and local politicians want to see the long-controversial building returned for community use. There is a "Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY" scheduled for Wednesday evening. Details here.

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

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

Details on the 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY' happening next Wednesday

[November 2011]

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY
Wednesday, May 15
March starts at CHARAS/El Bohio, 605 E. 9th Street @ 5:00
Cooper Union rally starts @ 6:00

Join us for a march and rally to return old P.S. 64, formerly CHARAS/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center, to our community! Meet at the former site of CHARAS/El Bohio for the march at 5:00 and Cooper Union for the rally at 6:00.

With speakers: CHARAS co-founder Chino Garcia, Council member Rosie Mendez, Assembly member Brian Kavanagh, Senator Brad Hoylman, Students For a Free Cooper Union, & music by members of Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Tiny Band and others.

Developer Gregg Singer, who purchased old P.S. 64, formerly CHARAS / El Bohio Community & Cultural Center at 605 East 9th Street, at public auction in 1999, has once again filed plans to convert our former school and community center into a 500 bed dormitory & youth hostel. In plans filed recently with the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of Buildings, Singer claims to have a signed lease with Cooper Union for 200 of the proposed 500 bed facility, though no lease has been submitted. In addition, Singer must submit proof that all beds have been leased by an educational institution for a ten-year period.

It is time to ask the City to return the building to the community!

Join us on May 15, & spread the word! Meet at the former site of CHARAS/El Bohio for the march at 5:00 and Cooper Union for the rally at 6:00.

Find the Facebook events page here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
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

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

Landmarks Preservation Commission asks to see modified plans for former PS 64

[Photo via MoRUS]

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) heard public comments yesterday regarding the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street. Developer Gregg Singer will need approvals from the LPC in order to make changes to the exterior of the landmarked building for his proposed 500-bed dormitory. (Those changes include adding a raised courtyard space.)

Several people testified against the proposal, including City Councilmember Rosie Mendez and representatives from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the East Village Community Coalition, who want a better plan for the space — one that serves the community.

One person in attendance said that the commissioners responded positively to the architect's plans for renovation. The commissioners did not vote on the proposal and made suggestions to the applicant to modify the plans... the next step will be a public meeting where the amended plans will be presented. (The public can attend this next meeting, but not speak for or against the plans. Date to be determined.)

The former PS 64 is also on the agenda for tonight's CB3 Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee meeting, which is at 6:30 — Seward Park Extension, 56 Essex St. (between Grand and Broome Streets).

Previously on EV Grieve:
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

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

This afternoon, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is listening to public comment regarding the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street... developer Gregg Singer will need approvals from the LPC to make changes to the exterior of the building for his proposed 500-bed dormitory. What follows is the testimony given by Councilmember Rosie Mendez...

Good afternoon, my name is Rosie Mendez — and I am the City Council Member who proudly represents District 2 — including the entirety of 605 East 9th Street which is the subject matter of this Public Hearing on application 14-2418 concerning the appropriateness of proposed alternations at the underlying site. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to testify here today on this most important matter.

In 2006, after years of concentrated community effort, the LPC designated the old PS 64/CHARAS El Bohio Cultural and Community Center as an Individual Landmark, citing many
singular facets of its design and century-long role as a publicly accessible community resource. In fact, the beautifully written designation report narrates at length about the rare architectural and community significance of this beloved building. I would go a step further and call the CHARAS building an absolute community treasure that universally symbolizes our shared history, collective struggles and our united path forward.

While the LPC is not specifically empowered to consider use — the history, architecture, cultural and community significance of this building is inexorably intertwined with the role it has played in the lives of successive generations on the Lower East Side. This building embodies a unique composition of remarkable and unequaled architectural features paired with a longstanding community-driven mission that dates back to 1904. Today, I urge the LPC to protect both of the unparalleled features of this building.

With respect to the plans submitted by the applicant, I have very serious concerns about the alterations proposed to the exterior of the building. My specific concerns include, without limitation:

• The proposed work on the roof — including installation of metal screen railings, mechanical equipment, an ATS room, boiler room and four stair bulkheads — will substantially detract from the distinctive roofline profile of the CHARAS building. These alterations may very well compromise the remarkable and striking architectural features of the building — including the mansard roof and pedimented dormer windows that are specifically cited — for their uniqueness and distinction — in the designation report. These dormers are, of course, the very same that were systematically destroyed, removed, and relocated in 2006, leaving nothing but a tarp flapping in the wind for the last seven years.

• I am very concerned that the proposed removal work in the elevated courtyards will undermine the hallmark concept and original design of this unique H-Plan building. The elimination and privatization of floor space on the 9th Street side of the building stands in stark contrast to the preserved vision, as articulated in the designation report which states, “The open space provided by the courtyards, the large groups of windows and the elegant decorative ornament were generous gestures and made this building stand out in this neighborhood of plain, rundown, and overcrowded tenements”... as these courtyards provided… “the luxury of open space in densely packed neighborhoods.”

Many things have changed since 1904, but the need for shared open space that is a source of community pride has not.

Conclusively, I strongly recommend that the LPC refrain from approving this proposal and require the developer to amend the current plans in a manner that entirely preserves the exclusive and remarkable characteristics of the CHARAS building — including the distinctive and landmarked roof, dormers and courtyards — consistent with the original design and designation report.

At this hearing, the LPC will officially vote to approve or deny the application... the Commission may also ask the applicant to return to a future hearing with revisions. We'll keep you posted as to what transpired this afternoon...

Meeting photos via MoRUS...

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

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

[Click image to enlarge]

Efforts continue to see the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street returned to a community use.

As previously reported here, 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. Last 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.

There's now a rally schedule for May 15, where residents and community leaders will march from the building at 609 E. Ninth St. to Cooper Union for a rally at 6 p.m. (More details to follow in the next few days.)

In its May newsletter released yesterday, the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation noted:

An enormous dorm would not be a community use, and would add to the oversaturation of the East Village with dormitories. Additionally, GVSHP is working with Councilmember Rosie Mendez and the East Village Community Coalition to ensure that the Department of Buildings does not issue permits for the dorm construction, given that the current plan violates regulations meant to prevent the construction of bogus "speculative dorms," and requires that there be a lease and restrictive declaration in place for a school to use all the beds for a new dormitory. This plan does not have such assurances.

Read their letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission here (PDF). Find more about community involvement here. Sign the petition to keep the building for community use here.

Help stop the Cooper Union expansion. Return PS 64 to the community! Sign the petition here: evgrieve.com/2013/04/petiti… @evgrieve

— Free Cooper Union (@FreeCooperUnion) May 2, 2013

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

Posters urge residents to 'voice your opinion' about the former PS 64

These posters arrived last night around the neighborhood...


[Photo via MoRUS]

...urging residents to speak out against the plan to turn the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center into a 500-bed dorm on East Ninth Street just east of Avenue B.

The building is a topic of discussion at two upcoming CB3 committee meetings... as well as at a Landmarks Preservation public hearing... (we'll have more information on that meeting later).



Meanwhile, there is a petition campaign in circulation 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

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

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

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...

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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