Cracks In Long-Empty P.S. 64 Force East Village Evacuations

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The Department of Buildings issued a violation to the owner of the long-empty former P.S. 64 for failing to maintain the building's exterior after emergency services evacuated neighboring buildings due to cracks discovered on the exterior facade.

Around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, an FDNY spokesperson said FDNY was called to the scene at 350 East 10th St., where a former schoolhouse has sat empty for nearly 20 years as the developer has battled with the city over its future use.

Buildings at 364, 362, 348, and 346 E. 10th St. were evacuated, according to DOB. The M8 buses were rerouted and E. 10th St. between Aves. B and C was closed, according to an update from local Councilmember Carlina Rivera.

By Wednesday around 2 p.m., the buildings' vacate orders were lifted, and the street was re-opened.

DOB inspectors and engineers, FDNY officials, and Con-Ed were on the scene, though it is unclear why Con-Ed was on-site. DOB engineers found cracks in the corner of the building on the third floor, according to DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky.

Rudansky said DOB engineers determined the building's cracks — though they warranted a violation — did not pose danger to the public, and the building was not at risk of collapse.

The former P.S. 64 has long been the center of controversy for community activists after a developer bought the property over 20 years ago.

After the school shuttered in the 1970's, community members took over the space and created CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center.

By the late 1990s, Singer bought the building amid a rowdy bidding process where community activists flooded the now-derelict property with thousands of crickets in hopes of stifling developers from buying up the property, the New York Times detailed in a feature last June. But that didn't stop Singer, who has since been battling with the city over efforts to turn the building into college dormitories.

Community activists have pushed Mayor Bill de Blasio to reacquire the building, and de Blasio promised he would at a town hall in recent years. Last August, de Blasio claimed to The Villager that Singer has refused to cooperate with the city. Singer later told Patch he was "astonished" as the "brazenness of the mayor's lie."

For Singer, the timing of the flurry around cracks in the facade is the "first step in [de Blasio's] quest" to reacquire the building through eminent domain. "This is politics," he said.

"We first heard of this matter today well after DOB inspected the building," said mayoral spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg. "DOB, FDNY and [the Office of Emergency Management] followed protocol and acted in best interest and safety of New Yorkers when they responded to reports of cracks in the façade of the building. This matter has no relation to our continuing interest in acquiring the building."

Last August de Blasio said eminent domain is "certainly something I want to know more about."

The local councilmember, Carlina Rivera, tweeted: "One thing clear: owner has neglected to take care of this property."

Singer admitted the more than 100-year-old building needed work, but blamed DOB for revoking his building permits for use as a dormitory, which were denied last year due to concerns the building would not ultimately be used for students. Singer filed a lawsuit, of which Rivera is a defendant, regarding the revoked permits against the city over a year ago.

"It needs to be renovated, and that's what we plan to do as soon as we get the building permit," Singer told Patch. Singer said he cannot fix the cracks in the facade without doing additional exterior work on the building envelope, and maintained that a DOB inspector told him Wednesday the building was not posing imminent danger.

"We can't wait to do the work," said Singer. The derelict, empty building as it stands is "terrible for the community."

"It's a terrible waste of time, money," said Singer.

Photo via the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission