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City to owner
of old P.S. 64:
Fix it, or fines
BY SARAH FERGUSON
Embattled developer Gregg Singer could face legal
action and fi nes of up to $5,000 a day if he does
not take swift action to fi x the crumbling facade
of the former P.S. 64 school building on E. Ninth St. in
the East Village.
In a March 4 letter, the city’s Landmarks Preservation
Commission ordered Singer to “expeditiously” address
deteriorating conditions at the vacant, turn-of-the-century
school building, which was landmarked in 2006.
Site visits by L.P.C. staff have revealed “cracks at
various locations, facade elements in a compromised
condition, back-up masonry exposed to the elements on
the north facade and cracked chimneys, among other
issues,” according to the letter by L.P.C. Chairperson
Sarah Carroll.
Under law, owners of landmarked properties are required
to maintain their properties in good condition or
face legal sanctions.
The L.P.C.’s reprimand comes a month after a crack
spotted on the school’s eastern wall prompted the city
to cordon off the block and evacuate four neighboring
tenements.
Although city inspectors ruled the wall was not
then in imminent danger of collapse, on Feb. 13, the
Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order for
the school, after follow-up inspections prompted new
concerns.
Specifi cally, the Feb. 13 vacate order cites “visible
cracks, gaps and deterioration” in the “ornamental facade
elements” on the E. 10th St. side of the building,
which are now at risk of falling into the street and onto
neighboring properties.
“In addition, interior fi re proofi ng are sic missing,
thereby exposing structural steel members. These conditions
have made the entire building and yards unsafe
to occupy,” according to the vacate order from D.O.B.
D.O.B. ordered Singer to hire an engineer to survey
the property and report back by March 21 to outline
how he plans to implement repairs. A hearing has also
been set for April 4, when Singer will appear before the
Offi ce of Administrative Trials and Hearings to address
the violations.
Singer, who was only occupying the ground-fl oor offi
ce when the vacate order was issued, has dismissed the
city’s actions as “political.”
On Wed., March 13, his spokesperson Nicole Epstein
confi rmed Singer had hired an engineer to “prepare a
report” on the school’s conditions. Epstein said Singer
had been in “constant contact” with L.P.C. over the
years. She questioned the timing of the city’s safety concerns,
particularly in light of recent pledges by Mayor de
Blasio to “reacquire” the property for community use.
Singer has been trying to convert the building into
a multi-school dormitory for the past 20 years, but has
faced staunch opposition from local politicians and
fans of CHARAS/El Bohio, the cultural and community
center that occupied the school for decades before
Singer purchased it at auction in 1998.
In 2013 and 2015, the city issued permits to convert
several fl oors to dorm space, but then revoked those
permits after determining Singer’s project did not meet
the criteria for a dorm under the city’s so-called “dorm
rule.” That rule requires that there be a minimum 10-
year lease with an accredited educational institution for
the entire development project before a building can be
developed as a dorm.
Schneps Media TVG March 21, 2019 15
/NECB.COM