(DNAINFO)  Allegra Hobbs | January 13, 2017 — Activists are concerned the developer will try to skirt a deed restriction on the property.

While a Long Island university is imploring the city to give the green light to convert part of a long-derelict school building into dorm rooms for its students, community members and elected officials are pushing the city to stall the plan out of fear it may be a scheme to skirt the property’s deed restriction and deprive the neighborhood of a community facility.

Nearly two decades after its purchase by developer Gregg Singer, the languishing former P.S. 64 building at 605 E. Ninth St. is in limbo as the city determines whether a plan to lease parts of the facility to Adelphi University while carrying out renovations on the whole building is in keeping with a deed restriction requiring community facility use.

School officials are urging the city to hurry up and issue the necessary permits so students can occupy the dorms by next fall. Adelphi’s executive vice president of finance and administration in November sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio asking him to “expedite obtaining the requested building permit from the DOB,” stating students will need the dorm rooms by fall 2018 as the school expands its Manhattan campus.

Source: Community Opposes Plan to Convert Abandoned School into Dorms – East Village – DNAinfo New York