Within the next few months, what was previously PS 51 will be reborn as a school for autistic students living in New York City.

PS 51, located at 3200 Jerome Ave. by Van Cortlandt Avenue, was shut down in August of 2011 after high levels of toxins were discovered. The renovated building, cleared for occupancy by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, will house the special needs school run by Quality Services for the Autistic Community (QSAC).

To accommodate the school, QSAC is working to change the parking restrictions to no parking 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday along the border of the school on Jerome Avenue, and no parking 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday on the Van Cortlandt Avenue side of the school.

The later hours and extra day of parking restrictions are needed because of impending afterschool and Saturday programs because of the nature of this particular school, according to QSAC representative Lisa Veglia.

Veglia, attending the latest Community Board 7 general board meeting, said because of the “great need in the Bronx borough for children with autism” a school was warranted in the borough.

This will be one of only two schools in the Bronx that service autistic students and are funded by the state without falling under the private or public school sectors. It is a state-approved, non-public school that that will accept all children referred to them by the Department of Education.

The school is open to autistic students up to the age of 21.