Mentally ill housing rankles Astoria residents

Not in our backyard.
That’s the message that some Astoria residents are sending about a plan to construct a residential building for mentally ill adults near the Astoria waterfront. Some residents believe that this is the last thing their underdeveloped neighborhood needs, and it would have detrimental effects on the community.
The 50-unit residence building is being proposed for the northwest corner of 2nd Street and 27th Avenue, across the street from the Astoria Houses, on what is currently an empty lot. The project is an initiative of Urban Pathways, an organization that rehabilitates the homeless.
“I’m not against these people having a place to live. But why are they putting them here? We have nothing here,” said Carmen Wynder, president of the Tenants Association at Astoria Houses.
Those living in the single-bedroom apartments would be homeless and formerly homeless adults, including people who have a persistent mental illness or who are chronically homeless, said Joyce Baumgarten, spokesperson for Urban Pathways. Some of these people might also be recovering from substance abuse or living with HIV/AIDS, according to Baumgarten.
Despite their conditions, these people would be able to live independently as long as they get limited support from people like nurses, psychiatrists and caseworkers, who will be available to provide on-site services, Baumgarten explained. She expressed hope that mentally ill and/or formerly homeless people from Astoria would be able to take advantage of the new residence, which will cost between $12 and 14 million.
“It gives them an opportunity to make a life for themselves and live in a stable environment,” Baumgarten said, explaining that the residents will receive services encouraging recovery, self-sufficiency and the management of psychiatric symptoms.
Wynder said she has collected about 50 signatures from other tenants of her housing development opposing the project.
“We would like some stores here, to lift us up,” Wynder said.
The neighborhood is not that underserved - there is for example a bus stop right around the corner of the proposed development and the neighborhood provides transportation opportunities to places such as Mt. Sinai Hospital, Baumgarten explained.
“I feel it’s a burden for us,” Wynder said. The residents of the building, despite being supervised, might end up wandering around the neighborhood without having taken their medicine, thus endangering the community, she explained. “We worry about children.”
“Urban Pathways is proud of our record of seamlessly integrating our residences into the neighborhoods where they are located,” responded Baumgarten. “Our Manhattan supportive housing program Ivan Shapiro House, a 55-unit residence, has operated successfully for more than a decade without an incident.”
That’s not much of a comfort, said Wynder. She noted that the residents of the proposed site would be endangered too, especially those who are recovering from substance abuse.
“We have our bad people in here - drug dealers and drug users,” Wynder said about the Astoria Houses. “They can easily be persuaded to do the wrong thing again,” she said of the residents of the proposed building.
City Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr., who represents Astoria, also opposes the proposal.
“Certainly, no community can be thrilled about such a project, but in this instance the consequences could be dire for a neighborhood that has long been struggling to improve itself,” he explained.
Besides, an upscale apartment complex is currently under construction in the vicinity of the proposed site; the proposal could jeopardize the development that the complex can bring, Vallone explained.
“We are hoping these new apartments will draw the services this community so desperately needs; the last thing the investors need is a reason to keep them away,” Vallone added.
He said he has sent a letter to the New York State Office of Mental Health, which is funding the project, to express his opposition.
On November 18, Community Board 1 will hold a public hearing about the proposal and then vote on it, said Lucille Hartmann, district manager of the Board. She is encouraging members of the community to attend the meeting and express their view on the project.
The meeting will be held at the Astoria World Manor, at 25-22 Astoria Boulevard, at 7 p.m., Hartmann said.