Since early January, students at
the Children's Workshop School have been without use of the playground here on 12th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.
On Jan. 9, part of the façade of an adjacent building at 638 E. 12th St. crumbled, and pieces of concrete from the exterior landed in the playground, also used by students in
the P94M program within District 75.
The playground has been closed while the new landlords of the 638 property made the necessary repairs, completed nearly four weeks ago.
Since then, school officials (and parents) have been waiting for the Department of Buildings (DOB) to inspect and hopefully approve the work so the kids can have outdoor access again.
An item in the most recent
school newsletter, dated Friday from Principal Maria Velez-Clarke, states: "There is no still no news regarding the schoolyard. We are working with elected officials to try and expedite the inspections, but have no control over the Department of Buildings."
There's a DOB notice posted to the one-story structure dated Feb. 2 for the owner/occupant to call the city for inspection...
Parents hope that this will be resolved soon. (Students are on midwinter break this week.)
"This is negatively impacting classroom behavior and depriving kids of much-needed fresh air, exercise, and time to socialize," one parent with two children at the school told us.
We're unsure what's inside No. 638 and how often anyone uses it. According to public records, there have been occasional complaints about No. 638's west-facing wall dating to 1989...
Repairs aside, that problematic wall won't be an issue in the months ahead.
The 8,900-square-foot structure had been on the sales market.
Per the listing: "Ideal for a luxury residential condominium in a well-established Downtown Manhattan neighborhood" with "Four sides of light and air." (
Campos Community Garden is on the building's east side.)
The structure behind 432 E. 11th St.,
sold last summer for $2.8 million. Public records show the buyer is affiliated with an LLC in Brooklyn that "provides development services for residential and commercial properties."
This past Wednesday, plans were filed for a 6-story residential building at the address. The plans show one residential unit per floor, likely meaning there will be condos as pitched in the sales sheet.
Here's an aerial view of the space via Google Maps...
The project is in its earliest stages, and there's no estimate when construction could start... work that will possibly prompt closure of at least part of the playground and community garden for scaffolding and netting.
Since April 2016, the front of 638 E. 12th St. has served as a memorial (
via Chico) for Elliot Caldwell, a 23-year-old
who was shot and killed across the street outside Campos Plaza (
below photo via LoopNet)...