By Betsy Scheinbart
A plan to open a home for mentally retarded young men in a residential area of Springfield Gardens was presented last week to Community Board 12, where residents said a disproportionately high number of such facilities already exist.
The proposal to move seven moderately mentally retarded young men into a two-family home at 140-46 160th St. in Springfield Gardens was made by Gary Kipling, the assistant executive director of St. Christopher-Ottilie.
Kipling said St. Christopher-Ottilie intends to convert the private residence into an Individual Residential Alternative, where young men ages 18 to 21 could live semi-independently, but would be supervised 24 hours a day and also learn to be self-sufficient.
St. Christopher-Ottilie, a nonprofit service organization, offers a range of services to families and children, including a large foster care program. It is certified by the state Department of Mental Retardation.
St. Christopher-Ottilie runs one Individual Residential Alternative in Brooklyn and seven on Long Island. They also have Intermediate Care Facilities in Jamaica, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill.
Several members of Community Board 12 noted the overabundance of such facilities in the southeast Queens area.
“We are oversaturated with those homes,” said Yvonne Reddick, district manager of the board. “It may not be the same agency, but there are so many other agencies that are providing those homes.”
Reddick estimated that 20 or more homes similar to the one St. Christopher-Ottilie has proposed already exist within the confines of Board 12, which covers Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, South Jamaica, Rochdale Village and part of Springfield Gardens.
Board members and others who attended the board meeting Jan. 16 asked dozens of questions about the facility. Kipling told them the young men do not have any criminal histories and are not troublemakers.
He also said the young men are all originally from Queens.
“Our intent is to move them closer to their families,” Kipling said. “Our goal is to help these individuals meet their life goals.”
But board members wanted more specific information on what neighborhoods the young men are from and asked repeatedly why St. Christopher-Ottilie had not considered other locations for the home.
Kipling said two of the young men currently live in a St. Christopher-Ottilie facility in Jamaica, but he did not specify the neighborhood their families live in.
Two of the other young men are now living in facilities on Long Island and two others are at home in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, Kipling said.
Reddick said she was sympathetic to the need for such residences, but said she would like them to be more evenly spread out in the borough.
“This community board is not against mental retardation. Somewhere in our family we have such relatives that need care,” Reddick said.
“Just give each community board its fair share. Otherwise you get sick and tired of hearing that these people are from your community. I am sick and tired of hearing that cock-and-bull story!”
Many on her board made similar comments during the meeting.
“We seem to have a burden-proof number of those facilities in this board,” said Cardinal Saniford. Fellow board members Ruth DuBerry and Reuben Holder echoed those remarks.
The board did not vote on the project but has 40 days to give a response. Even if the community board opposes the plan, it might still go forward because St. Christopher-Ottilie’s programs are funded by the state and federal governments, not the city, Reddick said.
If the residence is established, the young men would either attend school or day programs Monday through Friday and would be supervised by at least two St. Christopher-Ottilie staff members while at home, Kipling said.
The sale of the house has not been finalized, but Kipling said he hoped the young men would be able to move in by this spring.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
