SOUTH NYACK – The Nyack College property will be bought by Yeshiva Viznitz for a religious school as the village awaits a summary of the Hasidic Jewish congregation's plans for the property, Mayor Bonnie Christian said.
Christian confirmed the buyer's identify during a Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday night. She said she had few details other than the buyer's lawyer informed the village earlier this month. The closing is scheduled for early August.
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What remains unclear is if Yeshiva Viznitz, located in the Ramapo village of Kaser, has development partners for the college and if the school's Alliance Theological Seminary on Route 9W in Clarkstown is included.
The 22-acre property with a two-floor, concrete-and-glass building is split between the Village of Upper Nyack and the Town of Clarkstown.
Christian and the board have declined for months to comment on the sale and plans for the property or offer an opinion so as not to compromise the village when and if site plans or zoning requests have been filed. She's said she hadn't been made aware of the details or the buyer or buyers.
Christian said the village got notification of the potential owner July 16 when village lawyers met with the congregation's attorneys.
"At that meeting, our attorneys were advised that the proposed purchaser was the Yeshiva Viznitz, which intended to operate a religious school on the campus," Christian said at Tuesday's meeting.
"Village counsel requested a written narrative from the potential buyer’s attorneys providing specific details about the proposed school and a site plan reflecting the operations so that the Village Board could better understand the proposed use and share that information with the public," she said.
Christian said the village has yet to receive the summary and cannot discuss a proposed project without the details.
"When we do, we will share it with the public," she said.
Property tax exempt?
The property has been tax exempt under Nyack College and could remain so under the yeshiva's operation of a religious school.
Some residents have been concerned about Nyack College's plans for the campus, especially with talk of the Hasidic Jewish community being the buyer, and the property remaining off the tax rolls. Other residents have said the congregation would be welcome and the village would enforce its zoning.
Anticipating the multimillion-dollar sale of Nyack College, the board hired attorney William Harrington to advise it on land-use applications. Harrington and his law firm, Bleakley, Platt & Schmitt in White Plains, will be paid a maximum fee of $350 per hour, $285 hourly for associate work, and an undisclosed competitive rate for paralegal services.
The board also hired an appraiser to review certain areas amid the 107-acre property. The village is interested in obtaining the property's sports bubble and open field for recreational use. The board discussed a purchase but also discussed buying the property under eminent domain for public use.
The college property zoning seems mixed across the property as it operated under a special permit for educational use.
The zoning status could revert to single-family use if the campus has been dormant for more than a year. The college is grandfathered as a non-conforming use since no zoning existed when it was established in the village about 125 years ago.
College officials have faced financial stress and deadlines on their mortgage of upward of $40 million with Procida Funding and Advisors. The mortgage-holder, William Procida of Piermont, has declined to comment. He runs the Tallman State Park pool.
Nyack College officials had at one point applied for a change in the college's special permit on behalf of a developer they had refused to name. That developer wanted the permit amended for 22 parcels to allow for single- and multi-family housing, replacing the dormitories and other college housing.
The developer, Gabe Alexander, built the luxury Pavion complex along Franklin Street in Nyack.
South Nyack officials turned down the college's request based on special counsel Dennis Lynch's finding that village zoning prohibited amending a special use permit. Lynch said the college would need a new permit and go through hearings and planning reviews.
Christian said the board welcomed the college to reapply for a permit, but that never occurred.
A March 20 letter from the college to the mayor on behalf of the developer outlined a plan for high-density housing that the village land-use boards would have to review. The plan would have enhanced the value of the property for the developer.
She and the board came under criticism and pressure for what critics claimed was being too passive and not ensuring a taxable property would succeed the college.
Her comments Tuesday also defended the board's decision to keep an arm's distance from the property sale and whatever plans were in the works.
"As we have maintained from the inception of the announcement of the college’s intention to sell its campus, the college alone has the discretion to choose to whom it sells its campus," she said. "Any questions regarding the College’s decision should be directed to the College."
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
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