Glendale residents can speak out at next week’s Community Board 5 meeting regarding plans to build additional dormitories and classroom space at the neighborhood’s Yeshiva Godolah Seminary (YGS).
Plans to expand the campus located at 74-10 88th St., the former Monarch knitting mill, will be the focus of a public hearing at the Sept. 9 meeting of CB 5, which will begin at 7 p.m. in the CNL Center at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village.
Currently serving 1,050 students within two buildings on the site, the YGS is seeking a Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) variance to erect an extension and unite the buildings into one, four-story campus. The expansion would result in the creation of 28 new classrooms and 177 dormitory rooms, accommodating approximately 710 dormitory beds.
Abraham Markowitz, YGS building manager, told the Ridgewood Times on Monday the extension will allow more students to reside on campus; currently, the facility offers dormitory rooms accommodating 360 individuals. The remaining pupils are shuttled from their homes in Williamsburg to Glendale each day via school buses that the yeshiva charters.
The additional dormitories would reduce the number of daily school bus trips from 15 to between four and six, Markowitz said. The expansion plans also call for the creation of a second curb cut from 88th Street, which would allow school buses to queue up on the yeshiva grounds rather than along the roadway.
“This is much better for the traffic and will be good for the community,” Markowitz said.
Before constructing the additions, he noted, the YGS must receive a BSA variance because the building’s use is not permitted under the existing manufacturing zoning for the site. Originally opened as a trade school — which is permitted “as-of-right” under manufacturing zoning rules — the yeshiva would be reclassified as a religious school under the variance.
The building could be completed within up to two years should the zoning variance be approved, according to Markowitz.
Speakers at the public hearing will each have up to 3 minutes to voice their opinions.
The Sept. 9 CB 5 meeting will also feature a hearing on capital and expense budget ideas related to Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village for the city’s 2017 fiscal year. CB 5 members will use the feedback provided at this hearing in forming its list of budget priorities in October.
Also on the agenda is a public forum, reports from Chairperson Vincent Arcuri and District Manager Gary Giordano, a review of demolition notices, a rundown of liquor license applications and committee reports.
For more information or to register to speak, call 718-366-1834.
