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P.S. 64 Redevelopment

Former P.S. 64, which runs from Ninth Street to 10th Street, was purchased for $3.15 million at a city auction. Last year, the city declared the building a landmark, an example of the French Renaissance Revival style. It now plans to change the zoning to eliminate most development options. The building came with a deed restriction: It must be used as a “community facility,” including a library, nursing home or clinic, or for social service or arts groups. Developer Gregg Singer claims that he has been stymied at every turn from renovating the building for elderly tenants, nonprofit organizations or college dormitories due to a “political deal” between Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and a former city councilwoman, Margarita López. Mr. Singer has filed three lawsuits against the city, including one (filed by Randy M. Mastro, a deputy mayor under Rudolph W. Giuliani) that seeks $100 million in damages, claiming Mr. Bloomberg “cut a dirty political deal with the local city councilwoman at the time, Margarita López: In exchange for her support of his re-election bid, he would see to it that his administration blocked the owner’s development plans.” The opponents include not only neighborhood activists but nearly every local elected official and the typically pro-development Bloomberg administration.