BY THE VILLAGE SUN | A rally to advocate for returning the old P.S. 64 — the former CHARAS El Bohio — to community use is set for Wed., March 15, from 11 a.m. to noon on the plaza east of City Hall.
The hulking former school building, at 605 E. Ninth St., just east of Tompkins Square Park, has sat empty for more than 20 years. Gregg Singer bought the formerly city-owned property at auction in 1998. However, his efforts to redevelop the place have repeatedly been frustrated by City Hall and community and local political opposition.
In January, State Supreme Court Justice Melissa Crane ruled that Singer’s lender, Madison Realty Capital, could move forward with foreclosure against Singer, and ordered that the structure be auctioned.
Madison is slated to hold a private auction Wed., March 22, at the Hilton New York Midtown Fifth Avenue, at 25 W. 51st St. Protesters plan to show up at 9:30 a.m. to try to block the sale.
Ken Toglia, a leader of the Guardians of Loisaida, has posted a petition on change.org calling for the auction to be stopped and for Mayor Adams to use eminent domain to reclaim the building. An update on the petition urges people to call Hilton’s Ethical Business Hotline, at 1-877-662-5825, “and tell them CHARAS is not for sale.”
Please attend the CHARAS AUCTION BLOCKADE on March 22 at the Midtown HILTON. For more info: http://www.savecharas.org https://www.facebook.com/events/930317711637608
If you are too chicken to sign your name to a comment that you imply is an official CHARAS position about Toglia’s petition [He signed his name to it] then why should anyone pay any notice to your whining? I would be ashamed to admit that I did something that failed to get any result for 20 years. Is CHARAS a 501C3 Not For Profit? If it is then you probably should never advocate re-squatting a building that was squatted in the first place, and why should you be against others who can advocate squatting as a way to reclaim it doing that? By the way, was any money collected by CHARAS used for anything other than an annual protest for 20 years? Did anyone connected to CHARAS take money to vacate the building 20 years ago and sign a non-disclosure agreement, and if so, was that money reported to the State of NY or the IRS? You should be glad Kenny is doing what he is doing and legally since CHARAS does not own the building. What right do they have to say whO can make petitions or do other protests, includng squatting, it again ?? Sign your name to attacks on others or keep them to yourselves.
Why do you keep insinuating that CHARAS people took a buyout to vacate the building or signed some kind of NDA? Is there any proof to substantiate these questions? Kind of like going into court and asking a defendant, “Isn’t it true you rape your wife?” By asking you are accusing….What’s your rationale for this?
Hey, you are posting a petition that was not approved of by CHARAS.
And this petition is generating a list that does not go to Charas or the organization that has been working for 21 years to save that building and return it to the community.
So to link it in your article is hoodwinking the public.
You’re turning into The Village Son ’OB.