Stony Brook University put out a call for developers to build new dorm units and other space to counter a housing problem.

The university says it wants to provide housing for both students and young faculty members while being "good partners with the community."

Some residents who live near the campus have complained in recent years over the behavior of students living in private off-campus rental homes, and as News 12 has previously reported, some of those homes may have been illegally subdivided. Brookhaven Town has been cracking down on landlords who rent homes to large numbers of students.

In August, a deck collapsed at a Setauket rental home during a party attended by hundreds of students.

So the university posted a request for qualifications, or RFQ, with the state in order to find developers for a possible public-private partnership to build and maintain what's being billed as a campus village.

The plan could include a dining hall, retail space -- and of course -- housing.

Bruce Sander, head of the Stony Brook Concerned Homeowners community group, says he hopes the school builds more housing on its grounds as soon as possible.

"Let's use university land for university students," he says. "I think that's a wonderful idea. I think it needs to move forward, and it needs to move forward fast. This thing cannot drag its feet for three, four or five years."