Abandoned East Village School Could Be Taken Over By City As Development Plans Stall, Mayor Says

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The city could take over an abandoned East Village school that it sold to developers nearly 20 years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a town hall meeting Thursday.t.

De Blasio said that he was "interested" in reclaiming the Ninth Street building which was previously home to Public School 64 and the CHARAS community center.

"The Giuliani administration put that building into private hands and failed miserably," de Blasio said Thursday. "We've seen the negative effect that that has had on the community. So I'm announcing tonight the city's interest in reacquiring that building."

De Blasio's announcement was met with applause and cheers from East Village and Lower East Side residents who have long protested the loss of public land to private developers. The building was sold to Gregg Singer for $3.15 million and local residents have challenged his plan to turn it into dormitories for a college for more than a decade.

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Community members have insisted that zoning regulations have landmarked the space, located at 605 E. Ninth St. for community use and that transformation of the building into dormitories would be illegal. The ongoing back-and-forth has stalled any action on the space for more than a decade.

The loss of community land to a private developer has highlighted one of the most pressing issues in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which has increasingly seen its neighborhoods gentrify and its housing costs soar. Most recently, activists have bemoaned the sale of the Rivington House.

Last year, the nursing home was sold to luxury developers for $116 million. The deal was made possible despite zoning regulations because a city agency quietly approved a deed change on the property, permitting the land to switch from not-for-profit use to for-profit use.

Allure Group, the nursing home company that previously owned the property at 42 Rivington St., paid $16 million to get the land's deed restriction lifted, after which they sold it to developers for $116 million.

De Blasio's announcement on the Ninth Street building generated the most enthusiasm of the night. The mayor and his administration also fielded questions from residents on education, public housing, small business survival in the neighborhood and the proliferation of bars and nightlife.

The town hall was jointly hosted by Council Member Rosie Mendez and Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer.

Image credit: Mark Lennihan / AP Photo