Methadone Clinic Scraps Plans to Move to Financial District
The day after facing fierce opposition from residents and members of Community Board 1, a methadone clinic scrapped plans to move to the Financial District from its current location on Third Avenue in Gramercy.
On Wednesday night, CB1’s Financial District Committee passed a resolution calling on the state licensing agency to oppose the opening of the clinic at 90 Maiden Lane, to be run by Gramercy Park Services.
“We have requested that Gramercy Park withdraw their application for this move and Gramercy has agreed to comply with [our] request,” a spokeswoman for the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services told the Trib Thursday afternoon in an email.
The clinic’s chief operating officer did not immediately respond to the Trib’s request for comment.
Wednesday’s board resolution came nearly two months after the methadone clinic received the state’s conditional approval for its move. CB1 first learned about the plans last week.
The state agency said it considers community input when it reviews a clinic’s application to open at a new site, although community board approval is not required.
“Under their regulations as a methadone clinic they have to get community input and we needed that part of the application,” said Jannette M. Rondo, the state agency’s spokeswoman. “They needed to go before the community and talk to them.”
Rondo said the community board resolution was one of the factors—but not necessarily the only one—that led to the application being withdrawn. Two agency representatives attended the CB1 meeting Wednesday night to hear what residents and committee members had to say.
Residents expressed concern about the community impact of several hundred methadone clinic patients going in and out of the neighborhood, which they feared would lead to drug dealing and other crimes.
“I have grave concerns about the tremendous amount of children and young kids who walk by literally the front door of 90 Maiden Lane every day,” said Karen McMann, whose 3-year-old daughter attends a nearby Montessori school. “Are there no regulations for location?”
“Patients who cause disruptions to the community will be discharged,” said Ronald Vlasaty, executive vice president of the clinic’s Chicago-based parent company, Family Guidance Centers, Inc. “Loitering will not be tolerated, and patients caught loitering will be immediately discharged.”
But promises of working with the community did not convince board members.
“The committee and the community overwhelmingly decided it is the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Committee Chair Ro Sheffe. “Everyone in the room recognized the services they provide are needed, but just not in that location.”
Financial District residents had rallied quickly against the clinic. Although only about a half dozen spoke at the meeting in opposition to the move, one of them said she had a petition with almost 600 signatures of neighborhood residents that she would give to the board.
“Yes, there is a need for this, but we are a young and thriving residential community,” said Linda Gerstman. “To see something come in that really belongs in more of a commercial district to a young growing neighborhood is disheartening.”
The chair of Community Board 6 said he was not aware of problems caused by the clinic in its current location. "There were no complaints filed with the community board about the operation," said Mark Thompson, who added that he worked with the clinic's leadership for almost a year trying to help them find a new site where neighbors would not oppose it. "They looked at a variety of locations in CB6 and were not able to find a location."
The clinic, which needs to move because its location of 40 years is not handicap accessible, applied to relocate to Maiden Lane in the end of July—and received conditional approval in October. One reason they failed to inform the community board, Vlasaty said, was because of the precence of a substance abuse facility already operating at 90 Maiden Lane. Board members countered that that facility does not dispense methadone.
The clinic will continue looking for a new location to serve its clients, Rondo said.
By Jessica Terrell
UPDATED Dec. 09