[Story Updated, Nov. 17, 2008, 5:03 p.m.]

For two years, local leaders and residents have demanded the vacant old Fordham Library building be turned into something that benefits the underserved and densely populated community. But recently, the city quietly gave control of the 27,400-square-foot structure over to the Health Department for use as an animal shelter.

Community leaders are not happy, saying they feel the city went behind their back without consulting anyone locally despite being well aware that residents wanted the building for community space.

“This is outrageous and a slap to the community,” said Community Board 7 Chair Greg Faulkner, whose board has made the library renovation its number one budget priority for the past two years. “We won’t accept an animal shelter at that location.”

Since the library closed in 2005, local groups have consistently pushed for control of the building, saying the area had a serious lack of community space for vital after-school and youth programs.  

Over the summer, Health Department officials floated a plan to turn the old library into an animal shelter, but the community widely denounced it.

Mark Daly, of the Department of Citywide Administration Services (DCAS), said the building was turned over to the Health Department on Oct. 1 after that agency requested the building.

Two weeks ago, a month after gaining control of the building, Health officials sat down for a meeting with Faulkner and CB7 District Manager Fernando Tirado. Faulkner said he bluntly told them the Board would not support an animal shelter at the old Fordham Library and offered up an alternative site, an old Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) building on Webster Avenue.

The Health Department confirmed it has procured the property and planned to turn it into an animal shelter. Health Department spokesperson Celine De leon said the agency was mandated by a City Council resolution passed in 2000 to operate a full-service animal shelter in every borough. There is currently no full-service shelter in the Bronx, she said.

De leon maintained that it was DCAS’s job to scout any potential issues with the site, including the fact that it has been highly coveted by local groups and residents.

The Health Department says its plan is contingent upon City Council and community board approval, which  will be difficult to obtain considering Faulkner’s stance and City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera’s consistent support of the library becoming community space, such as a youth or senior center, a hub for social services, a job training facility or a free computer lab.

Jorman Nunez, of the youth group Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), said the news came as a shock to his group, which has fought for the space for two years. SBU recently submitted 10,000 petition signatures to the city in support of reenlisting the building for community use.

Last Friday, Faulkner, Nunez and Rivera’s staff were still trying to find out how this had happened without anyone being notified.

Nunez said he’s not sure it’s a done deal. He said SBU would work to ensure that the City Council and community board would reject the shelter plan if it comes before them.

Faulkner couldn’t contain his frustration. “The city has done something completely dishonest,” he said. “We made it clear [making the library community space] was our number one priority. If this is how the mayor does business, then we will take that into account when other big projects come through our area for approval.”

Pastor Fernando Cabrera of New Life Outreach International Church, and his activist group Community Action Unlimited (CAU), staged a huge rally at the library last fall. He said the city wouldn’t try something like this in a more affluent neighborhood. “There’s a certain level of respect that we’re obviously not getting,” said Cabrera, who’s running for City Council next year. “All we’re asking for is equity for our youth.”

Over the summer, in collaboration with SBU, Cabrera’s church and activist group collected more than 10,000 petition signatures in support of reenlisting the building for community use. They submitted them to Rivera’s office this fall.

With the economy crashing, Cabrera said the city should want to secure a place like the old library that would be dedicated to uplifting, educating and training our youth and unemployed. He said his group would work with elected officials, CB7, SBU and local churches to fight the proposed animal shelter.  

For Nunez, the vacant library is a scarce commodity. “We need to keep the community space we have because the city’s not going to be building us any more in the near future,” he said.