Neighborhood members said the residence, which would be in a…
By Courtney Dentch
More than 50 Laurelton residents went to Borough Hall Tuesday to voice their opposition to the proposed location of a group home for five mildly retarded adults in a 225th Street house.
Neighborhood members said the residence, which would be in a one-family house at 130-57 225th St., could change the character of the block and strain already limited parking conditions as well as add to the over-saturation of group homes in the community.
“We have homeowners here who worked all their life to buy that house,” said state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans). “I encourage you to reconsider the placement of this facility. There comes a point in time where enough is enough and we need you to understand that.”
Community Board 13 voted unanimously against the home at its May meeting, but the developer, Bernard Fineson Developmental Center, a part of the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability, requested Tuesday’s administrative proceeding to possibly overturn the board’s vote. At the Borough Hall hearing testimony from both the agency and the community was presented to a hearing officer, who will make a recommendation to OMRDD Commissioner Thomas Maul.
A final decision on the proposal should be made by Maul within a month, the hearing officer said.
The home would serve five developmentally disabled adults with a five-person staff supervising their activities on a 24-hour basis, said Francine Watnick, a representative for Bernard Fineson. The residents would participate in day programs at a St. Albans facility and in leisure activities, such as bowling or watching movies on weekends, she said.
“We are committed to the highest quality of service available to people with developmental disabilities,” she said. “Experts agree that living in a community is a better arrangement for all but the most severe cases.”
But some community members worry that if the home is placed on 225th Street, despite the neighborhood’s concerns, it could lead to a strained relationship between homeowners and the facility’s residents.
“The needs of the residents for a caring environment is essential for personal growth,” said Democratic district leader James Blake. “This particular residence would not provide that.”
The home is also an attached house, sharing a wall with its neighbors. Walter Kay, who lives directly adjacent to the proposed facility at 130-59 225th St., said the noise travels through the walls.
Another prime concern on the one-way street is parking, said Kay’s wife, Diane. The home could add cars from staff and the residents’ visitors, she said.
“Sometimes it’s very hard for me to get my car out in the morning to go to work because someone has double parked and blocked me in,” she said. “It’s very, very tight in terms of parking.”
Community leaders and politicians oppose the project because it would contribute to the dense concentration of group facilities in Community Board 13 and southeast Queens.
“The Laurelton community and the community of southeast Queens has unjustly been targeted for group homes,” said Wayne Mahlke, chief of staff for state Sen. Ada Smith (D-Jamaica). “We cannot have more group homes in this area.”
Watnick argued that the home is still needed because CB 13 only meets 54 percent of its total need for beds in group homes, she said. But Richard Hellenbrecht, chairman of Board 13, said that 54 percent outstrips the borough’s other community boards.
The need figure is calculated by assuming 3 percent of an area’s population is developmentally disabled, the standard rule of thumb, Watnick said. Community Board 8 in Fresh Meadows is the next closest board, meeting 42 percent of its needs and Community Board 12 in Jamaica meets 35 percent of its need, he said. The two western Queens boards, CB 1 in Astoria and CB 2 in Sunnyside, were the lowest in the borough, each meeting 8 percent of their needs, he said.
“We have a far greater proportion of beds to need than any other community district in Queens,” he said. “Other districts need to carry more of the burden.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
