GREENPORT TRIES NEW ALTERNATIVE FOR MENTAL HEALTH HOUSING

Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News

08-27-10 - Greenport officials will try once again to convince the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties to relocate a controversial transitional housing project currently planned for Arthur Avenue in the town.

Town Supervisor Ed Nabozny told ccSCOOP on Tuesday that the town is sending a letter to the Association with another “less densely populated” location in town proposed. Attorney Robert Gagen, who has been hired by the town to handle the association’s plan, will send the letter today or tomorrow.

Officials declined to say where the proposed alternative is located, other than to say it’s “not necessarily rural, but it is certainly not as densely populated as Arthur Avenue.”

The town had previously proposed two locations to the Association, both of which were rejected last month.

Nabozny, noting that the Association was close to a deal on one of the earlier proposed locations, said he remains hopeful an alternative to the Arthur Avenue homes.

“They were close (with Paul Avenue). The property was even taken off the market,” noted Nabozny.

The Arthur Avenue proposal calls for the transitional housing to be cited in two existing duplexes located at 24, 26, 28, and 30 Arthur Avenue. Three of those four duplexes, which are presently owned by attorney William Spampinato, were apparently vacated last month by their previous occupants.

Arthur Avenue is in the middle of the West Meadows development, which is home to approximately 100 school-aged children. It is also located off Joslen Boulevard, near the Rite Aid and Walgreens pharmacies and less than a half-mile from Hudson junior and senior high schools.

Citing safety concerns and other factors, the Greenport Town Board has unanimously opposed the sighting of the housing on Arthur Avenue.

The transitional proposal drew a firestorm of controversy when made public in April, leading to a standing-room only crowd to the Greenport Town Hall where opponents heard of a litany of alleged criminal and related problems at another transitional housing location operated by the Mental Health Association.

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