Developer Behind Former PS 64 Wants To Buy Boys' Club Building

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The owner of a long-vacant East Village school building wants to buy the Boys' Club of New York's Harriman Clubhouse and lease the building to the city as a community center to dissuade the Mayor's office from reacquiring his property.

More than two decades after developer Gregg Singer purchased the former P.S. 64 building at 605 E. Ninth St. from the city, the mayor's office has begun talks to reacquire the languishing school house for a community use.

But Singer has long-maintained that he has no interest in selling the property and instead has proposed to the city that he purchase the Boys' Club of New York's Harriman Clubhouse at 287 E. Tenth St. — two blocks from the vacant school house — and negotiate a long-term lease with the city to use the building as a community center, said Singer.

"I think if the city just looks at the merits of this transaction it’s an incredible opportunity," Singer told Patch. "Here you have a building ready to go that was recently renovated, you have a buyer willing to buy it and then they just need to lease it, so really, it’s a win-win."

A spokeswoman with the Mayor's office declined to comment on the ongoing discussions.

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The Boys' Club of New York is selling its East Village clubhouse after 119 years as a safe haven for boys in Lower Manhattan. Much to the dismay of locals and elected officials, the Boys' Club has listed its Harriman Clubhouse for $32 million with Cushman & Wakefield.

The building hosts an array of programs for some 300 young boys who are club members and features two gymnasiums, a swimming pool on the seventh floor and a rooftop yard.

Boys' Club officials aim to operate there through June, 2019 and then relocate to a smaller space in the neighborhood, using funds from the sale to invest in programs in other underserved parts of the city including East New York, Brownsville and the South Bronx, according to club officials.

Tuesday is the final day to place a bid on the property, but the broker is amiable to extending the bidding period if the city expresses interest in the proposal, according to Singer. The property's broker, Michael Gembecki, said he is not at liberty to discuss individual bidders and referred Patch to the Boys' Club of New York for comment.

A spokeswoman with the Boys' Club charged Singer with using the Harriman Clubhouse to "distract from the challenges" he faces at the former P.S. 64 building and said the club was unaware of Singer's offer to the city.

"While we welcome all bidders that will help us continue to provide services to our members, we are concerned that Mr. Singer is seeking to distract from the challenges he is facing with his development project," said Elizabeth Nussbaum, the communications manger with the Boys' Club of New York.

"Beyond a very brief, vague conversation earlier this summer initiated by Mr. Singer, we have had no additional conversations with him and are unaware of any proposal with the City."

At an August media roundtable, Mayor Bill de Blasio told The Villager that Singer "has been exceedingly uncooperative" in talks to purchase the building, but Singer slammed the mayor and claimed his office had yet to reach out to him.

Singer has sought to convert the former school building into a 535-bed college dormitory, but has been unable to move forward with his plans after the city concluded that the proposal violated what is commonly referred to as the city's "Dorm Rule" and served the site with a stop work order that remains in place, according to the city's Department of Buildings.

Before Singer acquired the building in 1998, some community programming operated out of the derelict building. Over the years, local activists and elected officials have argued for the building to return to city ownership and at an October, 2017 town hall shortly before the mayoral election, the Mayor agreed and announced the city's interest in reacquiring the property.

It was a misstep for the city to auction the massive building and its prolonged vacancy has become a blight on the block, according to one woman who has lived on E. Ninth Street for ten years.

"The city should have never have sold that building to begin with — it's huge — it could have been a great resource for the neighborhood but its 20 years later now and it's still empty," said long-time East Village resident Hannah Levitt, 49.

"It's been looming over the block the entire time I've lived here. I don't care what happens now just something needs to happen."

The Boys' Club of New York's Harriman Clubhouse (Photo courtesy of the Boys' Club of New York)