By:Andrew Coen
Martin Oliner, a Lawrence Village trustee and a Touro College trustee, has indicated to the Lawrence school board that the college is extremely interested in opening a satellite law school on the Central Avenue property.
If Touro were to move into the Five Towns, it would overhaul the Number One School building, which was closed late last June by the Lawrence school board as part of a consolidation plan to save the district money. The elementary-school students were relocated to the Number Six School in Woodmere in September. An appraisal of the 3.79-acre property was recently completed, but according to Lawrence school board President Kathy Raquet, the board's attorneys suggested that the district not yet release the results of the appraisal.
Although preliminary discussions have begun on Touro's possible acquisition of the property, a feasibility study of opening a satellite campus on Central Avenue in Lawrence has not yet begun.
Raquet said that the district has also been advised by the attorneys not to comment on Touro's interest. While she would not give specifics about other groups' interest in the property, she acknowledged that condominium developers and yeshiva administrators have also expressed interest in the parcel. The school board has the option of either selling or leasing the property, a choice that will be determined after the trustees study the recent appraisal, according to Raquet.
According to Oliner, Touro is interested in buying the property to add another location to its current law school in Huntington, which will soon be moving further east, to Central Islip, on the South Shore. Moving deeper into Suffolk County increases Touro's need for a campus on Nassau's South Shore, according to Oliner. The only other law school in Nassau County is Hofstra's, on the Hempstead-Uniondale border, 10 miles from the potential Lawrence site.
"There is no law school in our area other than maybe Hofstra, but even that is a little ways away," said Oliner. "Given the unfortunate nature of having to close a school, having another school open would be the best thing."
Touro College President Dr. Bernard Lander said that since the Five Towns has many attorneys and scholars, opening a law school in the area would provide something special for the entire community. "This building would be an ideal location for a law school," said Lander. "It would be an intellectual center and would be great for us and the community."
Lander also pointed out that while Touro's undergraduate college is religion-oriented, the law school is secular, with about 25 percent Jewish enrollment. "It would be an intellectual center, not a religious center," Lander said.
Law School Dean Dr. Lawrence Raful said the possibility of operating a satellite campus in Lawrence is in the very early discussion stages and it was his understanding that the college also might be interested in running other programs from the campus, such as nursing, health care and other undergraduate courses.
Raful, who has yet to see the Number One School property, said that the Lawrence location might be best suited to a possible first-year law school program, not a full three-year program, and that the idea requires further study. "I'm not in favor or opposed to it," he said. "I just don't have enough facts at the moment."
Raful said he will investigate the possibility of Touro opening a satellite law school in Lawrence by speaking with faculty and members of the American Bar Association, who must approve the program.
"I think it is worth looking into, because it is an interesting idea," Raful said.
Oliner, who contacted the school district a few months ago about Touro's interest in the property, said that if the law school purchases it, it would need to invest $10 million to $16 million to overhaul and expand the building. Touro would also likely build an underground parking garage.
If Touro were picked as the site's new owner, it would not ease the village's tax burden, since it is a private educational institution. Lawrence Association President Myrna Breitman said that while the civic group has not had any formal discussions about a law school moving into the village, many association members have indicated that they would rather see upscale condominiums built on the property so that the parcel can return to the tax rolls. "I feel a study should be made to see the effects of a law school on the community," said Breitman.
She said she plans to have discussions at the next Lawrence Association meeting, scheduled for Feb. 16, to see if members prefer housing or an educational institution like Touro for the property.
"As far as a college coming into Lawrence, it's premature to make a comment on the matter," said Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown.
Oliner said that Touro would be willing to work with administrators at the adjacent Peninsula Public Library on the library's efforts to expand its current building onto 100 by 280 feet of the Number One School property. "We would work with the library completely, and make sure there is the best library for both buildings," said Oliner, referring to a law school library that would exist in the current Number One School building in addition to the PPL.
Touro operates undergraduate colleges in Brooklyn and Queens in addition to its law school in Huntington, which plans to move to its new campus in Central Islip in a couple of years, according to college officials. Touro also has a School of Health and Sciences in Bay Shore as well as two medical schools in California and Nevada.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
