BY LESLEY SUSSMAN | Calling it “a major step in trying to reclaim the old P.S. 64,” Councilmember Rosie Mendez announced at Tuesday’s Community Board 3 meeting that the Department of Buildings has issued a stop-work order on the plan to convert the building into a 529-bed, multi-institute college dormitory.
The Cooper Union and the Joffrey Ballet School have signed contracts with developer Gregg Singer to use part of the existing the building as a college dorm.
Singer bought the former school building, at 605 E. Ninth St., from the city in 1998 and evicted the Latino-run CHARAS / El Bohio Cultural and Community Center from it in 2001. Previous plans of his — including adding a high-rise tower on the site — were shot down by the city or otherwise proved unfeasible. In addition, the city landmarked the building even while Singer owned it, further restricting his options.
Cooper Union has reserved about 169 beds at the proposed “University House” dorm.
The dorm plan has been vehemently opposed by local activists and community groups who want the place restored as a community center.
Tuesday, Mendez reported that after nearly a year of her complaining — including her writing two letters — to the Department of Buildings, arguing that the project flouted D.O.B.’s “Dorm Rule,” she finally received a response Mon., Sept. 22.
“This is a victory for the community,” Mendez said, “and let’s celebrate it while we got it. Then we have to move on to the next phase of the battle to get our building back to the community.”
Mendez said the leases with Cooper Union and Joffrey Ballet School failed to comply with “what we know to be a lease or what the Department of Buildings requires as a lease for educational institutions.
“There are no special rooms reserved for the Joffrey Ballet school for meetings, dance or music,” she explained. “There are no specific in-house services for either institution, as required by the Department of Buildings. There will be just a cafeteria, recreational room and computer room. Nothing unique.”
Mendez said, due to the stop-work order, Cooper Union and Joffrey Ballet School now “will have to start the process of filing leases for educational institutions all over again — and I don’t think they’re going to do that because of community protests.”
The East Village Community Coalition has been circulating a petition — on which it has received hundreds of local residents’ signatures — urging the city to reject the dorm.
Singer could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to the letter sent to Mendez this Monday, Singer must now halt any construction that may have begun under a partial work permit that “was issued based on misinformation to the department.”
A subsequent media alert issued by Mendez’s office Wednesday, said, “On July 25, 2014, the Department of Buildings approved Singer’s application to have the Joffrey Ballet Center Concert Group Program (C.G.P.) considered a not-for-profit with housing accommodations, as opposed to a dormitory, and issued a partial work permit in August to convert the ground floor and 1st floor into dormitory rooms for C.G.P.
“After reviewing the objections raised by Councilwoman Rosie Mendez in a letter dated September 3, 2014, D.O.B. determined that the lease agreements into which Singer and The Cooper Union and C.G.P. entered did not meet the agency’s criteria for a lease with an educational institution.
“Moreover, D.O.B. determined that C.G.P. could not be considered a not-for-profit with housing accommodations since the application contained misinformation that disqualifies C.G.P. for this status.”
Mendez will lead a press conference this Sun., Sept. 28, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., at the old P.S. 64 / CHARAS, on E. Ninth St. between Avenues B and C.
