“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.
“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.
The property has been tax exempt under Nyack College and could remain so under the yeshiva’s operation of a religious school.”
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