Board, City Push
Hunt for York Site

4 THAGE ONE
By SY sarRAageone C

Board of Higher Education and City Planning Commis-
sion officials, voicing confidence that an interim home
for York College would soon be found in Jamaica, con-
tinued-today "to press their hunt for available properties.

They warned, however, that because of the current
site acquisition snag, classes in the new facilities would
probably not begin before the February semester, rather
than in September as scheduled.

Community leaders, while heartened by the optimistic
signals, repeated their call for Mayor Lindsay to try to
resolve the impasse, since they fear that if Jamaica is
abandoned as a temporary site, this would imperil plans
to place the permanent $58 million campus there. i

The civil rights and civic leaders, who on Wednesday
formed the Ad Hoc Committee for York College, re-
quested a meeting with the mayor next Tuesday “‘to
make sure that the city is still committed to Jamaica as
an interim and permanent site and that classes will open
in September,” according to the Rev. Leonard Miller,
leader of the group and chairman of the social action
committee of the Queens Federation of Churches.

The committee—which includes representatives from
the Jamaica Community Development Corporation, Ja-
maica Community Corporation, and the Queens Urban
League—was joined in its appeal by City Councilman-
(Turn to Page 19)



Press Hunt
For York Site

(Continued from Page 1)
at-large Michael Lazaar of Holliswood,
who said there was “no excuse” for the
delay.

“Where there’s a will there’s a way,”
Lazaar commented. ‘““There are many sites
available. The city and the board have an
obligation to open classes in September.
The morale of the student body depends
on it.”

According to Charles Smith, director
of the City Planning Commission’s Queens
office, “there is no doubt that York will
be temporarily and permanently located in
Jamaica. The only question now is the fall
opening.”

He said that municipal planners and
BHE officials were in daily contact and
were exploring the possibility of acquiring
several properties that could be converted
to classrooms and administrative facil-
ities.

* * *

DR. SEYMOUR Hyrean, the City Uni-
yersity’s vice chancellor for campus plan-
ning and development, said he shares
“that confidence. The chances are good
we'll find something in Jamaica. A lot of
people are chipping in to help.”

Dr. Hyman warned, however, that if
appropriate properties in Jamaica could
not be found “we will have to look else-
where.” A

The latest flap over York, the newest
senior unit of the City University, came to
"light earlier this week when it was

jearned that the city had failed to secure
two of the three sites it had promised
the BHE. York’s students now attend
classes in Bayside. Its administrative of-
fices are located in Kew Gardens Hills.
Both Smith and Dr. Hyman indicated
that a decision on site acquisition would
probably be made within the next few
weeks. Smith declined to indicate which
sites are under discussion, for fear th.
" speculators might attempt to capital
_ on the project. ( ie