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 about the animal shelter plan despite full knowledge 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.”

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. He said the Health Department had sent a letter requesting the building.

Last week, 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 flat out 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 had procured the property to turn it into an animal shelter, pending approval by CB7 and the City Council.

That approval seems a long shot at best, considering Faulkner’s stance and City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera’s consistent support of the location to be used for 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. SBU recently submitted 10,000 petition signatures to the city in support of returning the building for community use.

Earlier today, 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 shut the animal shelter plan down if it comes up for approval.

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.”

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.