Mayor Lies About Effort To Buy PS 64 Building, Owner Says

EAST VILLAGE, NY — At a recent media round table, the Mayor called the owner of a long-vacant East Ninth Street schoolhouse “exceedingly uncooperative” with the city's attempts to buy back the controversial property.

But the developer behind the building hit back by saying the city has made no effort to contact him.

Shortly before last November's mayoral election, the mayor announced at a Lower East Side town hall that the city aimed to reacquire the 605 East Ninth Street building, but since then the mayor has stayed mum on the matter. Now, at an Aug. 23 Brooklyn media roundtable, the mayor told The Villager, which has sister publications in Brooklyn, that there has been little movement because the developer is refusing to cooperate.

“We’ve tried to have a productive conversation about purchase,” de Blasio told The Villager. “We’ve gotten nowhere so far. We’re not giving up. We’re working very closely with the councilmember, Carlina Rivera. I’m very frustrated with that owner.”

Gregg Singer, the current owner of the five-story building, told Patch in July that he has not heard from the city about reacquiring the property since the mayor's 2017 announcement — and he said Friday that has not changed.

"When I read the report that Mayor de Blasio told the media that I had been "exceedingly uncooperative," I was astonished at the brazenness of the mayor's lie," Singer told Patch.

"I know that politicians are not known for their strict adherence to the truth, but when someone like the mayor can claim to be frustrated because I have been uncooperative when I have not received a single email or phone call from him or anyone in his office is simply unbelievable."

Singer challenged the mayor's office to produce email and phone logs that the city has reached out to him.

De Blasio also told the newspaper that eminent domain is “certainly something I want to know more about, but I had hoped the best solution here would be a direct purchase." The mayor said potentially purchasing the pricey lot is "not off the table. It’s just we’re just not getting any cooperation so far.”

A spokeswoman from the mayor's office maintained Friday that the city is interested in purchasing the property to convert it into a community resource.

"As the Mayor has said, we are open to buying the building if that would enable us to restore the building to a community use, but the seller needs to be willing to sell," said Jaclyn Rothenberg, the first deputy press secretary to the mayor's office.

Councilwoman Carlina Rivera's office declined to comment due to pending litigation Singer brought against the city involving the building.

Singer has sought to transform the former school building into a 535-bed college dormitory, but neighborhood groups and elected officials have vehemently opposed his plans and instead insist the building be converted into a community center.

The building housed a community center before Singer purchased the building. At the time, activists railed against the city's plan to sell the site, but the auction went ahead and Singer acquired the parcel for $3.15 million. July 20 marked the 20th anniversary of the building's sale.

Singer has been unable to move forward with his plans for the property after the city concluded that the proposal violated what is commonly referred to as the city's "Dorm Rule" and served the site with a stop work order that remains in place, according to the city's Department of Buildings.

Lead photo courtesy of Drew Angerer/Getty Images. Secondary image of 605 East Ninth Street courtesy of Caroline Spivack/Patch.