Quantcast

City is ‘interested in reacquiring’ old P.S. 64, mayor tells town hall

Mayor de Blasio said the city is “ready to right the wrongs of the past” on the old P.S. 64. Photo by Tequila Minsky

BY LEVAR ALONZO AND LINCOLN ANDERSON | In a stunning surprise announcement, Mayor Bill de Blasio, at a town hall meeting for the Lower East Side and East Village on Thursday night, said his administration is interested in “reacquiring” the old P.S. 64, the former CHARAS / El Bohio, from developer Gregg Singer.

“Decisions made a long time ago were a mistake,” de Blasio declared. “To place that building in the hands of a private owner was a failed mistake. So I’m announcing tonight, the city’s interest in reacquiring that building. We are ready to right the wrongs of the past and will work with Councilmember Mendez and her successor to get that done.”

Most in the audience of more than 300 people at The Island School, near the east end of E. Houston St., sprang to their feet and cheered at the news.

Returning the building to the community would most likely involve eminent domain, in which the owner would have to be paid fair-market value, which could be $40 million or more. The city would also be required to show a clear plan for the building’s future use to regain possession of it under eminent domain.

The old P.S. 64, the former CHARAS / El Bohio Cultural and Community Center — seen from its E. Ninth St. side — has sat vacant for nearly 20 years while owned by developer Gregg Singer. Villager file photo

Co-hosting the town hall with the mayor were District 2 Councilmember Rosie Mendez and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Mendez, a third-term incumbent is unable to seek re-election this November due to term limits. Speaking later, a Mendez spokesperson said that the councilmember did not have any advance notification that mayor was going to make the announcement.

“That was the first that Rosie heard the news,” he said. “It was the first her team had heard of that.”

As for Mendez’s successor, de Blasio was referring to Carlina Rivera, who is the prohibitive favorite to win the Council seat in November. Rivera has pledged to work to restore the former school building to the community.

Toward the town hall’s start, as Hizzoner was about to launch into his prepared speech about his administration’s initiatives affecting District 2, local activist Barbara Caporale stood up and shouted, “Mr. Mayor, gives us back our community center!”

She was referring to the old P.S. 64, on E. Ninth St. near Avenue B, which was occupied by CHARAS / El Bohio Cultural and Community Center, a Latino-run organization that had reclaimed the abandoned building from drug dealers and prostitutes.

Telling the woman he would be getting to that issue in a little while, the mayor first rattled off a list of his administration’s accomplishments and upcoming projects in the district. Saving the best for last, at the end of his introductory remarks, right before he opened the floor to audience questions, the mayor broke the news about the old P.S. 64.

The former P.S. 64 — seen above on its E. 10th St. side — has sat disused for nearly 20 years as developer Gregg Singer has owned it. Now, Mayor de Blasio is saying it’s time to return the building to the community. Villager file photo

For nearly 20 years, the vacant former school building has been owned by Singer, who bought it at a city auction for around $3 million in 1998. It was sold to Singer under the Giuliani administration, which viewed CHARAS as a political foe. CHARAS’s artistic director, the late Armando Perez, was a Democratic district leader and a nemesis of former City Councilmember Antonio Pagan, who went on to serve as a commissioner in the Giuliani administration.

Singer has long wanted to redevelop the property as a for-profit college dormitory. However, the Bloomberg administration landmarked the historic “H”-style school building nearly 10 years ago, blocking Singer from demolishing it to build a high-rise dorm there; Singer’s plans since then have involved reusing the existing structure.

Among the former school’s illustrious alumni is Yip Harburg, the lyricist of “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Reached for comment by The Villager on Friday and asked his thoughts on the mayor’s announcement, Singer repeated his usual refrain of late.

“I’m not talking to you about this property,” he said.

Singer used to speak more freely with The Villager about the building and his ever-changing schemes for it and his anger at Mendez and others for what he called their obstructionism against his plans. More recently, though — it’s unclear whether he is under a gag order from his investment partners or just doesn’t want to talk — he has declined to comment.