Vague Plan For City To Reclaim East Village School Gets Backing

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The city's plan to take over a vacant East Village school – despite its owner having no intention of selling it – was backed Tuesday by the neighorborhood's community board.

During a meeting last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he was looking to take over the building at 605 E. Ninth St., which previously housed Public School 64 and, later, the CHARAS community center. Since 1998, its news owner's attempts to turn it into school dormitories have stalled amid opposition.

De Blasio's announcement was greeted with loud cheers and applause from residents who were happy that the property would be returned to the community. De Blasio made the announcement, however, with no details about how he would go about buying a property that was not for sale.

"The Giuliani administration put that building into private hands and failed miserably," de Blasio said in October. "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."

Now, a month later and as more community members are voicing support for de Blasio's plan, the property remains off the market, said a spokeswoman for the owner.

In 1998, developer Gregg Singer purchased the space with plans to turn it into a dormitory. Since then, plans have stalled amid various debates about how the property should be used.

Nicole Eptein, a spokeswoman for Singer's company the Singer Financial Corporation, said that the building was off the market and that no one from de Blasio's administration had reached out to start a conversation. De Blasio's press office did not respond to a request for comment from Patch.

"No, the Mayor's Office has not reached out to us," Epstein said. "The building is not for sale."

On Monday, the arts committee for Community Board 3, which includes the East Village, passed a resolution supporting de Blasio's call to reacquire the property. The committee's resolution will go before the full community board later this month.

Three different schools, including the Joffrey Ballet and Cooper Union, have expressed interested in leasing the dormitories on Ninth Street as plans for the building have stalled. Most recently, Adelphi University signed a lease with Singer to rent at least part of the property for dorms as the school expands its presence in Manhattan.

A stop work order has been in place at the property since 2015, according to city records.

Image credit: Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images New