Nyack College Sold To Yeshiva Viznitz For Religious School

SOUTH NYACK, NY—The Nyack College property officially has a buyer. According to South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian, Yeshiva Viznitz intends to operate a religious school on the campus.

During this week's board of trustees' meeting, the mayor said that the village was contacted in mid-July and informed that the purchaser had entered into a contract with the college to buy the property.

She added that village council had also recently requested a written narrative from the potential buyer’s attorney, providing specific details about the proposed school and the site plan reflecting the operations, so that the village board could better understand the proposed use and share that information with the public.

"To date, we have not received the requested information. When we do, we will share it with the public," she said during the board meeting. "The village has and will continue to comply with all applicable laws as it relates to any future potential development of the Nyack College campus."

Nyack College ceased operations in Rockland County at the end of 2019. The college has long had a permit to operate an educational campus in a residential area. The Rockland County Business Journal reported that under village law there's a a one-year window to preserve that right.

This spring, college officials applied to amend the permit to allow higher residential density on about half the main property on behalf of a prospective buyer. The plan was to build multi-family housing. Village trustees rejected the request because village law doesn't include a process to amend a special permit.

"The village did everything in its power consistent with applicable law to work with the college with respect to that application," Mayor Christian said. "The application was ultimately denied by the village board because it did not comply with applicable law. The application was denied without prejudice and the college was invited and indeed welcomed to resubmit the application."

According to the mayor, Nyack College chose not resubmit the application and gave no explanation as to why.

Read Mayor Christian's full statement from the July 28 Board of Trustees meeting below