Home for Disabled Receives Pushback

A proposed group home for the developmentally disabled has drawn resistance from nearby residents and the Town of Oyster Bay.

The Center for Developmental Disabilities (CDD) wants to house five adult males with varying levels of disabilities at 32 Meadowbrook Rd., a property the organization is in the process of receiving as a donation.

Town of Oyster Bay Public Information Officer Marta Kane confirmed that a Town attorney and a consultant to Supervisor John Venditto attended a Wednesday meeting at the CDD's 72 Southwoods Rd. campus – across from Syosset High School – for the purpose of opposing the home.

When the state notifies a potential host community that a home is proposed, according to Kane, that municipality has three options: accepting it, suggesting another location or challenging it based on "over-saturation." The Town chose the latter, maintaining that the Syosset area already has an ample number of similar homes. But during their presentation the Town officials could not say how many group homes for the developmentally disabled currently exist.

"We are still working to get that number," said Kane, who added that the state has the final say on whether the site is approved.

Concerned homeowners were also invited Wednesday night for a presentation by the CDD. A Patch reporter showed up for the proceedings. Patch was told by a PR representative for CDD that it could stay only if it promised not to publish any information gleaned from the discussion. When Patch declined, the reporter was forced to leave the non-profit, private facility by a member of the security staff before the discussion began. 

But Patch has subsequently talked to residents who attended the meeting, and they agree that they weren't satisfied with the information provided by CDD.

"It was a feel-good presentation with a lot of old statistics," said Theresa Lally, who lives on nearby Woodland Avenue. "They showed a slide from a 1984 study that said property values don't necessarily decrease [by having this kind of facility nearby]."

Lally added that she only found out about the home last Saturday at the North Syosset Civic Association block party and wished there had been more notice. She did get a flyer about the issue but thought it was junk mail and only came back to read it after learning more from word of mouth. Lally estimated that about 85 residents showed up for the meeting.

North Syosset Civic Association President Patricia Kessler was among those in attendance. She doesn't want to speak on the issue as president because her organization tries to avoid political issues. But as a private citizen who lives within 300 feet of the home, Kessler doesn't see it as a viable option, noting the narrow road and limited parking for the employees who will staff the facility. Upwards of three full-time employees will be at the home in eight-hour shifts, including a live-in house manager.

"So many children in this area are riding their bikes around, walking to the park, and with [the traffic] they won't be able to move around as freely as before," Kessler said. 

Both Lally and Kessler said the meeting became increasingly tense.

"I would say that the tone started out very cordial, but it got more and more frustrating when we weren't getting a lot of answers," Kessler said.

That said, a resolution is possible. One resident suggested an alternative location, believed to be 291 Jackson Ave. That home is currently listed online as being available for rent. A tentative late-October meeting with a state official has been postponed while the Town confirms its numbers and the viability of the alternative location is looked into, according to Kane.

Attempts to get comment from the CDD were unsuccessful.