MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION EXPLORES OPTIONS TO CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL

Mike McCagg

ccSCOOP News

07-27-10 - The Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties is exploring another option after facing criticism for a controversial plan to locate transitional housing for its clients in a child-rich neighborhood in Greenport.

Greenport Town Supervisor Ed Nabozny told ccSCOOP this week that the Association is working with an expert to examine the feasibility of sighting the transitional housing units in a site on Paul Avenue instead of the initial proposal to locate the housing in two existing duplexes located at 24, 26, 28, and 30 Arthur Avenue.

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.

The Greenport Town Board, which has unanimously opposed the Arthur Avenue location, proposed the less populated site on Paul Avenue, along with another unidentified site. The second alterative did not work-out because of issues with its current owner, officials said.

Attorney Robert Gagen, who the town hired to manage the case, said “The New York State Office of Mental Health is, as I am informed, in the process of doing an in-depth feasibility study of this alternate location.”  Gagen said he asked, but not been supplied with, a timeframe for how long the study will take.  “Their response has been, ‘it will get done when it’s done',” the attorney said.

Unlike the neighborhood-setting of the Arthur Avenue proposal, the Paul Avenue site is described by officials as “by itself” and not in the immediate vicinity of neighbors and children.

The transitional housing proposal drew a firestorm of controversy when made public in April.

A special meeting drew a standing-room only crowd to the Greenport Town Hall where opponents heard of a litany of problems at another transitional housing location operated by the Mental Health Association.

A police report listing 911 calls reporting dozens of incidents ranging from sex abuse to drug possession, harassment, larceny and domestic disputes at the Association's Columbia Street Residence in Hudson added fuel to the fire as residents, who were already angry that Jeffrey Rovitz, MHACG Executive Director, had decided at the last minute to not attend the meeting.

“The arrogance of the Columbia-Greene Mental Health Association in not coming to this meeting tonight is unacceptable,” said Town Board member Tom Fleming.  Mental Health officials had previously told ccSCOOP that the Columbia Street site was safe and that there were no problems with it.

The transitional housing facilities – of which there are only two presently in the county (the other is located in Clermont) – were described by former County Mental Health Director Michael O’Leary as being 24-hour supervised living for those with thought process disorders, but others have questioned if there would actually be full supervision or simply visits by association workers made to the residents. Different answers have been provided to residents who have raised that question.

Rovitz didn’t return calls for comment.

O’Leary, whose department approved the Arthur Avenue proposal, said the residents would be people who are not criminals, but tend to be victims.  Still, that has not calmed the concerns.

“This is a single-family, kid-friendly neighborhood. This is not the proper location for such facilities,” said resident Beth Harring. “Now our kids can walk to their friends on Charles Street, Christy Street—all over the neighborhood—and we don’t have to worry. We will have definite concerns with letting our children walk anywhere if these [transitional homes] are permitted.”