Yesterday The Local broke news that the buildings department rejected a plan to bring dorms to the former school building that once housed CHARAS. The community group, founded in the mid-1960s, moved into the massive building on East Ninth Street in 1979 and was evicted in 2001, but the organization lives on, as does its president Carlos “Chino” Garcia. “Now we’re working here in the East Village, Brooklyn and the Bronx,” Mr. Garcia told The Local last week. “We’re doing different projects around culture, working with artists, you know, so we’re still kicking, thank God for that.” Days before the dorm plan was rejected, we spoke to Mr. Garcia, an East Villager since 1958, about the ever-changing neighborhood.

Tell me about the former P.S. 64 building and CHARAS’ history with it.

The center was really well utilized by the community. We had programs of all kinds and other organizations were using it. We had community groups of different kinds using it by the hundreds, thousands of people. We had a substance abuse program. In one week we’d have like 1,500 people coming to those meetings.

We had hundreds of theater groups working out of it (including Living Theatre, which recently closed). In all the years we were there, I think we did 600 productions. We used to throw four art exhibits a year. Each exhibit had like 400 artists. And we would present the artists that weren’t well-known. People that needed a work space could get it, depending on their income. If they were poor they’d get it for free. If they had a little of money they’d just pay a little bit of money.

It was a tremendous place. When you walked in, there was always something beautiful happening artistically. Different languages being spoken. It was truly a community center. When we lost it, the neighborhood lost a lot.

In what direction do you think the neighborhood is going now?

Well, the neighborhood has been gone already. It’s been gentrified.

P.S. 64 was a true center. It was one of the few places that you could use without worrying about your income or your race. That’s the spirit of a community, where people come and feel free to express themselves.

Is there any of that spirit left in the East Village today?

The East Village has always been a very interesting place to come but it’s less interesting now. The place is too expensive to present anything, especially if you lose all the community facilities. If you’re going to be creative, this is not the place to try to do it because it’s too expensive. If you notice, there are hardly any art galleries left in this neighborhood mainly because the rent is too high.

So would you say that the creative spirit has left the East Village?

Technically the creative spirit got evicted from the East Village [laughs].

I don’t know what New York is going to do. I think we had the advantage of being a cultural icon for developing artists but if they can’t afford to develop here, they have to look for space someplace else. And artists will always exist, somewhere they will exist. So they will probably go to other cities where you can still get cheap rent.

What should P.S. 64 be used for now?

It should be a community center again. Hopefully it would keep the policy to help people develop and become creative in any way they can. And hopefully we will be successful doing that someday. Not only P.S. 64 but any building that is going to waste. Since we left, 13 years ago, nothing has happened there. It’s a total waste. A very sad situation for a facility like that not to be put to use. It’s really sad.

You’ve heard the rumors that it might be converted into dorm-style housing for university students?

I hear different rumors. A lot of people in the neighborhood are against that. Whatever it is, it has to benefit this community because the land has been designated as a public facility for public use. So whatever happens it has to follow those rules.

Is CHARAS involved at all in protesting Mr. Singer’s plan to convert P.S. 64 into dorms?

Not directly but there are committees keeping an eye on the building. Whenever I see them in a coffee shop they sort of bring me up to date of the gossip that’s taking place in the neighborhood. Now myself, I want to spend my time with creative projects that are taking place in the neighborhood. I enjoy more working with the artists and the kids in the community. To me that’s more joyful than worrying about a building or anything like that.

What are your feelings about 7-Eleven moving into the neighborhood? There are a lot of longtime East Village residents who are against it.

I don’t have time to be protesting against 7-Eleven. I remember protesting against McDonald’s on First Avenue and Sixth Street, around 30 years ago when they first wanted to build it there. And we gave them a hard time and in the end they won [Mr. Garcia is, by the way, drinking out of a take-out McDonald’s coffee cup as we speak]. But I think the community, any community, should protest against anything they feel uncomfortable with. No matter what it is. When you protest things you have to think about when/if it does happen, how are we as a community going to benefit from it?

Is there a way to do that with Mr. Singer as well?

I don’t know because we never discussed that. I don’t know what Mr. Singer is interested in. A lot of these people are interested in the bottom line, how much money they’re going to make. The thing about some developers is that they don’t care. And those are the ones that the community will go against. In the situation with Mr. Singer, we offered him the possibility of working together but in reality, he’s not interested.

Anybody that’s willing to work or cooperate, historically they have done well. McDonald’s finally negotiated with the community and they got respect and they hired local people and local management. And that’s why they have been successful there, because they work with the community.

In general, all of us as a community, we’re still trying to keep this community and neighborhood spirit. A lot of the residents for years have been fighting for all kinds of rights. And I’m glad me and CHARAS and groups like us, we’ve been in this neighborhood for many years and we’re trying to fight for the rights of the people.

Are you going to stay in the East Village forever?

I don’t think so. At some point I’ll probably go to California or Puerto Rico. But I will be here for a long time. I’m not in a hurry to go anywhere.