Officials challenge plan for East Village dorm conversion

Controversial plans for developer Gregg Singer’s 500-bed, multi-college dorm planned to rise on the site of the old P.S. 64 at 605 East 9th Street in the East Village continue to face objections from local officials, the New York Observer reported. 

Singer, who leads the investment group behind the conversion, is seeking approval for the project from the Landmarks Preservation Commission and Community Board 3′s land use committee.

He will need the LPC’s approval before he can make any exterior changes to the landmarked building, but at a department meeting Tuesday night, City Council member Rosie Mendez, along with representatives from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the East Village Community Coalition, spoke against the $40 million proposal.

Mendez voiced “very serious concerns” about proposed changes to the roof, including the installation of metal screen railings and mechanical equipment, and criticized the planned privatization of Elevated Courtyards Off 9th Street.

In March of 2012, Singer put the long-vacant P.S. 64 building back on the market. This past February, he filed paperwork with the city Department of Buildings to turn the 110,000-square-foot property into university housing. [NYO]–Jaime Cone