Mercy College to Appeal to Dobbs Ferry to Convert Offices into a Dorm

On Wednesday night, representatives from Mercy College had been scheduled to appeal to the Dobbs Ferry Zoning Board for authorization to convert a building currently used for offices into 40-room dormitory, obtaining only a regular building permit.

But sometime Tuesday afternoon, Dobbs Ferry village attorney Darius Chafizadeh said he received a call from Mercy College's attorneys saying they had postponed the appeal. "Apparently, they had not given sufficient notice that they would be at the meeting," he said. The Dobbs Ferry Zoning Board of Appeals meets only once per month.

Mercy college argues that since the building was originally used to house students, there is no reason they should need a special permit to convert it back into a dorm.

"Village Building Inspector Brian Cook and I agree that Mercy College should need a special permit to go ahead with this project," Chafizadeh said. 

Chafizadeh believes the private college should have to conduct certain environmental studies—such as traffic analyses—under the authority of the village. Additionally, Mercy College has shown interest in building a new 300-room dormitory. "We think the impact of that development should be analyzed before any permits are issued," Chafizadeh said.

Wednesday's meeting with the village zoning board would have been the first time Mercy College met with officials in Dobbs Ferry—though this development proposal has been an ongoing topic of conversation in Irvington since February.

Mercy College is bifurcated by the Irvington-Dobbs Ferry line. However, there is a long-standing permit that states that no buildings used for educational purposes can be constructed on Irvington's side of the campus—meaning no dorms and no classrooms.

Mercy has proposed to construct a new office building on the Irvington side of campus, which will allow them to covert the current offices into dorm in Dobbs Ferry.

The proposal in Irvington is now undergoing environmental review, following state and federal law. Dobbs Ferry's Chafizadeh hopes to be "intimately involved" in the planning process of this project as well. 

When Mercy College does present its intentions to officials in Dobbs Ferry, zoning board members will either side with the college—allowing them to proceed with their plans with no further village-authorized impact studies—or rule in favor of Cook and Chafizadeh, forcing Mercy either to apply for a special permit or take their case to court. 

Lawyers representing Mercy College did not return our calls. 

Both Dobbs Ferry and Irvington residents are concerned about this development, and residents from both villages attended meetings when the college presented their plans in Irvington.

"We feel Mercy College has been uncooperative with residents on many issues," said Dobbs Ferry's Carolyn Whittle. "They have not been willing to tell us their current enrollment numbers and the number of students they hope to have when this is finished. We are determined to cap their enrollment and hold their feet to the fire on the environmental impacts of this proposal."

Find more information on the State Quality Review Act here.