Report: Gregg Singer places the former P.S. 64/Charas into bankruptcy protection

The auction of the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center will NOT be happening after all today.

Developer Gregg Singer has reportedly placed his long-dormant property at 605 E. Ninth St. into bankruptcy protection ... two months after New York State Justice Melissa Crane ordered the foreclosure and sale of the former school and community center between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

This development comes right as an auction for the landmarked building was set to take place today at the Hilton New York Midtown Fifth Avenue. 

Adam Pincus at PincusCo has the scoop: 

Singer claimed the five-story building has assets and liabilities both above $100 million, and that there would be funds to make payments to the more than two dozen creditors. Madison Realty Capital filed the pre-foreclosure action in 2018 that triggered the foreclosure sale, only two years after giving Singer a $44 million loan secured by the property. 

As of a February 2022 referee's report, the property had debts of $89.98 million.

As Pincus notes, "Singer's move to protect his ownership of the building is part of an extensive involvement of the courts over the years."

Now there will be more court activity to sort out the bankruptcy litigation.

Singer purchased the property during a city auction in 1998 for $3.15 million. Through the years, Singer wanted to turn the one-time P.S. 64 into a dorm (more here), though those plans never materialized, and the building has sat in disrepair, prompting the city to take emergency measures to seal it up in late 2022. 

Some residents want to see the space used again as a community center, as it was during its time as Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001. There's a petition in circulation titled, "Save Charas Community Center! Stop the Private Auction!" Per the petition, which states, "Demand Mayor Adams use eminent domain to return the center to the people!" (You can find the petition here.)

The 135,000-square-foot building is zoned for "community facility use," Any conversion to residential housing would require a zoning variance.

Ben’s Deli moving on without Ben on Avenue B

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

There’s an upbeat atmosphere at Ben’s Deli on Avenue B this Thursday night. 

Local tall man Bobby is playing a DJ set from atop a stack of milk crates and plywood as curious passersby duck into the store and dance to his synth-driven set of house and disco.

Driving this festive mood: it’s being announced that Ben Gibran has sold his eponymous deli and is retiring after almost 50 years in the business.

At one point, Ben, his wife, and five sons: Mo, Ahmed, Haas, Gamal, and Ali owned six delis (plus a pizza shop) in the East Village. The last of the storefronts at 32 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street is in contract to be sold, and Ben’s keeping it in the family, selling it to a cousin, Sammy Ksem, who is present tonight...

... along with Haas (below) behind the counter ...

... and Mo...

... and Glenn, a longtime employee...

Also on hand: the new in-store vendor Los Tacos Poca Madre, which serves housemade potato chips, a tasty fruit salad with hot sauce — not to mention traditional Mexican food.

Meanwhile, people come into the store to celebrate Ben’s long tenure as a local business owner.

As much as I am happy about Ben’s retirement, I can’t help but also be a bit sad. I’ve known Ben since I was a teenager and knowing I won’t see him and his kids and grandkids here gives me a pang of sadness. 

Ben’s Deli has been a meeting place, a shelter in the storm (literally – Ben fed the neighborhood during the dark aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012), a place to grab a frosty drink, some munchies, a travel-size bottle of mouthwash/toothbrush/toothpaste combo pack, and back in the day: loosies, lotto tix, rolling papers. 

It’s had a starring role in the Netflix series “Russian Doll” and my heart. It always smells faintly of smoke; some products don’t have any business in a bodega — or do they? — and a revolving cast of characters who can explore EBT fraud, middle-of-the-night Maalox purchases, and a mix-and-match 6-pack of beer.

However, best of all is catching Ben “in the office” — his maroon Chevy Astro van parked out front. He’ll most likely be reading an expired Jetro Restaurant Supply Store brochure, chain-smoking and talking on his ancient flip phone.

While Sammy reports he has no plans to change the name, Ben’s kids won’t be working there anymore — and neither will Ben. Another familiar face, Uncle, a longtime employee, recently had a serious medical setback and hasn’t been able to get back behind the register. 

When I ask why now, Ben tells me he’s tired and old and just ready to stop working. “I can’t do it anymore, Stacie; it’s time,” he says, offering a comforting pat on my shoulder. He smiles.

An official retirement party is in the works. Stay tuned for details.

Find previous coverage here.

Anthology Film Archives hosting 'a long-overdue retrospective' of East Village artist Abigail Child

The work of longtime East Village resident Abigail Child is the subject of a five-day program starting Friday at the Anthology Film Archives on Second Avenue and Second Street. 

Per the series description: 

... Anthology hosts a long-overdue retrospective of the work of the moving-image artist, writer, and poet Abigail Child. A leading figure of the generation of experimental filmmakers that emerged in the late 1970s-early 1980s, Child has continued to make innovative and challenging work – in a dizzying variety of forms and on a wide range of topics – ever since. 

Child, who has often grouped her films into thematically and/or formally linked series, first gained widespread recognition with the seven films presented under the title "Is This What You Were Born For?" Created between 1981-89, these works inspired (and continue to inspire) a plethora of commentary, and have become modern classics.

Find the full list of films and times here. The theater is at 32 Second Ave. at Second Street. 

Child also shared a few photos with us... including this scene on Third Avenue from "Game" (1972) ...

... and Child filming on Avenue A at Third Street in the early 1990s for "B/Side" (1996) ...

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

A spring-time view of the Hare Krishna tree in the center of Tompkins Square Park...

Corteiz x Nike Air Max 95 collab drop draws crowds, NYPD on 4th and C

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The collectible sneaker crowd turned out in droves this afternoon for an opportunity to pick up a pair of the Corteiz x Nike Air Max 95 collab (the pink iteration) on Fourth Street and Avenue C, where the corner deli was rebranded as the Corteiz Mart & Deli. 

Also turning out in droves: an assortment of law enforcement from various sectors of the NYPD...

See comments — this was always the location. We're told that the sale was initially set for 34th Street and Seventh Avenue, but the location was reportedly switched to the East Village at the last minute (or with enough time to get the signage up).

Shoppers need to pre-register for a wristband for the opportunity to buy a pair of the London-based streetwear brand Corteiz's collaboration with Nike. Sneakers are $399, but $200 in-store today.

There were reports of some pushing and shoving, which likely prompted the NYPD response. (The Citizen app initially labeled this as a "protest.") 

And an EVG reader shared an aerial view...

Time passages: Check out the interior of the long-empty Mom's Liquor Store on Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy

Last month, we had the scoop about the new owner of 6 Avenue B, the long empty/abandoned building on the NW corner of Houston. The owner is an LLC linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties. 

A gut renovation is in the works — as is asbestos abatement. There has been some mystery and intrigue about the whole building, especially the storefront that housed the liquor store — aka Mom's. 

The retail space has been closed since the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010.)

How have nearly 14 years of vacancy treated the space? What does the interior event look like these days?

EVG contributor Stacie Joy found out the other day... with a look inside Mom's, a frozen-in-time space where bottles of Riunite still go for $5.25. The bullet-proof register area remains intact as well.

Come, let's look inside...

Also discovered... this EVG post about the store's owner from 2010:

I enjoy watching her reaction to some fancypants asking her if they have any, say, really buttery California chardonnays whose grapes were harvested on hillsides composed of Kimmeridgian marl, limestone and chalk. Her reaction is usually either, "WHAT?" or "WHY WOULD WE HAVE THAT."

Previously on EVG:

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

Artists feel inspired to create murals for the former Charas/El Bohio Community Center

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

A group of local artists continues to paint a series of murals on the Ninth Street side of the former Charas/El Bohio Community Center here between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

The artists include (above) Seth Tobocman ... Sabrina Jones...

...Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz...

... and Ariel Kleinberg ...

The work, which started on March 5, comes before the landmarked building heads to a foreclosure auction tomorrow, Wednesday, March 22, at the Hilton New York Midtown Fifth Avenue. (There is a Facebook invite to "Stop the Auction.")

Meanwhile, there's a petition in circulation titled, "Save Charas Community Center! Stop the Private Auction!" Per the petition, which states, "Demand Mayor Adams use eminent domain to return the center to the people!" You can find the petition here.

"We are operating on the assumption that we will get the community center back, and we are using permanent material that will last," Tobocman said. 

He was quick to note that the participating artists are not involved with the various political groups and their plans for tomorrow's auction. 

"We are just artists inspired to paint, inspired by the art that was painted on the other [10th Street] side," Tobocman said. "Sabrina Jones had a studio in the building before it was evicted. Some of us taught art classes to kids there back in the 80s. We have a Wednesday deadline due to the auction."

The property that developer Gregg Singer purchased during a city auction in 1998 for $3.15 million fell into foreclosure last year. Through the years, Singer wanted to turn the one-time P.S. 64 into a dorm (more here), though those plans never materialized. Some residents want to see the space used again as a community center, as it was during its time as Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001.  

Monday's parting shot

A little spring from 10th and A today... happy spring equinox.

Late-afternoon bendy thing moment on the Bowery

On the SW corner of the Bowery at Fourth Street... read all about it here.

Reconstruction work on the Tompkins Square Park field house starts soon

Photo by Stacie Joy

Updated 3/21: The work is now set to start on April 3, according to Community Board 3.

-----

The Tompkins Square Park field house reconstruction could begin as soon as today.

This past Thursday evening, Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee received a "Parks Manager Update." 

According to the unnamed manager who was not on camera during the virtual meeting, the work is expected to start today — tentatively, anyway. As the manager said: "We're not sure exactly, but that is the date given to us by Capital [Projects]." 

According to the manager, the field house and the space behind it — dubbed the Slocum area as it includes the Slocum Memorial Fountain — will be closed during this time, roughly 18 months. In addition, the Tompkins Square mini pool will be out of commission for two consecutive summers, he said. 

The Parks Department website lists a September 2024 competition date for the $5.6-million project (PDF here), which will:

• Upgrade existing restrooms to code

• Upgrade Parks and maintenance and operations space

• Add first aid and lifeguard locker room spaces in the building

• Reconstruct interiors

• Clean and partially repoint exterior brick

NOT mentioned during this briefing: temporary restrooms. Parks officials previously said that porta potties were not part of the contract "and cannot be supplied during construction." The city's relief solution was for parkgoers to walk five minutes (one way) to use the restrooms at the McKinley Playground on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue adjacent to P.S. 63/the Neighborhood School. 

However, in an email on Friday, CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer told us there would be porta potties after all during the reconstruction, though they still needed a delivery date.

During Thursday evening's committee meeting, the manager also said they've added a second shift of four staff members and one supervisor to the district to hit "hot spots" from 1-9:30 p.m. That work will include extra garbage collection in the area that features Tompkins Square Park, Seward Park and Sara D. Roosevelt Park.

You can watch a playback of the meeting on YouTube. The Tompkins update starts at the 4:40 mark and lasts roughly four minutes.

One last item from this report: the pavement reconstruction of the multipurpose courts (seen below) along Avenue A and 10th Street will likely start in June (and not September, as the website states). 

The Parks Department will reconstruct the multipurpose courts, adding various amenities, including a two-lane seal-coated walking loop and new asphalt. Other additions: new benches, a kickball court, a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, and three new basketball backstops at the eastern end.

There are concerns — as covered here — among the skate faithful that the work will render the area useless for skateboarders.