Shocking Announcement at Group Home Meeting Derails Project

Ostensibly the meeting at the on Thursday evening was to be an informational discussion about a for Blackberry Lane in the London Woods area of Yorktown. A surprise announcement during the meeting, however, indicates the project has been halted entirely.

The large meeting room at the library was packed even before the 7 p.m. start time. Hosting the meeting was Supervisor Susan Siegel with Daniel Luckett, chair of the Yorktown Group Home Committee, and several other members of the committee, who had invited representatives of the sponsoring agency, Cardinal McCloskey Services, to address neighbors’ concerns about the project.

Also in attendance were three of the four mothers of the developmentally disabled young adults, ages 20 to 21, who were expected to occupy the home. Cardinal McCloskey was to purchase the home and the families were committed to help them fundraise for this program and others like it.

Dozens of neighbors of the planned group home were in attendance to ask questions and voice concerns about the project. Among them,  would the property values in the community fall with a group home as a neighbor? Has the character of Yorktown been changed by the number of group homes already in its midst? What kind of activities would take place on the property and how might they affect the very fabric of a tight-knit neighborhood in a cul-de-sac?

Another resident asked if the group home would pay property taxes. Of the 19 group homes currently in Yorktown, 18 pay no property taxes, according to the town supervisor's office.

One woman commented that, not knowing what kind of people would be coming into the neighborhood to provide services to the group home residents, she would fear for the safety of her young 9-year-old daughter, who was at her side at the meeting.

“She’s teaching a nine year old to hate,” another member of the audience who supported the group home said. Later, that woman  said she has a child with autism and “people just are not educated about them.”

While Luckett attempted to quell the anxiety expressed by residents, he was not able to dispel the objections from attendees who kept hammering at the fear for the devaluation of their properties. Luckett said that research has shown that group homes have no affect on the value of surrounding properties, although no research on this had been done locally. 

Within a half hour, Luckett had convinced concerned residents to listen to the presentation by the agency before continuing further discussion

At that point, perhaps 35 minutes into the meeting, a new cast member to the drama entered the room and made her way  to the front of the standing-room only crowd to make a stunning announcement.

“Excuse me, my name is Jackie Spring, " she said. "And I represent the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OFPWDD). That office has directed me to come here tonight to announce that the Blackberry Lane project will not move forward. It will not happen.”

There was a palpable silence in the room for several seconds; the audience and panelists appeared equally bewildered by the surprise announcement. 

Siegel called for a 5-minute break, “as we try to fully understand what has just been said,” she said.

While members of the McCloskey organization and Seigel met in the hallway with Spring, most people remained in the room, trying to make sense of what just happened.

“Is this woman for real? Who is she, and who gave her the authority to call the whole thing off?” one audience member said. A Yorktown elected official in the audience said, "I wonder who it is who had enough weight to get through to Albany and get them to change their minds about this.”

Two mothers of the young adults who would live in the group home stood together, one trying to comfort the other who was sobbing. “In all the years that I’ve dealt with all kinds of situations involving my child, I’ve never heard the kind of things I heard tonight in this room,” she said. “These people don’t know my daughter. She’s just 20 years old and a complete innocent. If they knew her, they wouldn’t say these things.”

Siegel returned to the room and announced that Spring’s message was legitimate and carried the weight of her superiors in the OFPWDD. She suggested that people could either go home or stay to learn more about the McCloskey organization and the young people who wanted to join the community. Most attendees decided to go home, but a small group stayed to talk with the McCloskey representatives and members of the Yorktown group home committee.

The mothers also participated in the discussion and gave examples of how people are normally fearful before they know anything about the care of individuals with autism and how group homes usually assimilate well into their adoptive neighborhoods.

“Sometimes the most vocal opponents of our homes are those who are our strongest supporters after they come to one of our open houses that demonstrate how we operate,” said Cathy Varano, vice president of residential services at McCloskey.

Asked for comment after the meeting, Luckett said, “When there is a reasonable relationship between the agency and the neighbors, the plans for a group home can be reviewed by members of the community, and they can make their wishes known to the agency. Usually the neighbors and the agency can find a  way to satisfy all their concerns, but that can only happen with communication. My disappointment is that, because of the way this meeting was interrupted, that didn’t happen here."

Luckett said that he had no idea how the decision to stop the project was made or why it was announced so abruptly.

“I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine. Clearly she didn’t want to say more than she had to," he said. "It would be interesting to determine if the deliberations are a matter of public record that can be FOIL-ed to get internal memos about it.”

Siegel was also surprised by the announcement. “It was a real shocker," she said. "I’ve been to a gazillion meetings in my lifetime and have never seen anything like that happen before. Now, all we can do is wait and see if the agency and the state can work this out. If the Blackberry Lane home is truly dead, and if McCloskey identifies another site in Yorktown, we can start the process all over again. For the sake of these young people and their families, I hope this all works out for them.”

Bill Primavera is a Realtor associated with Coldwell Banker in Yorktown.  He can be reached for comment at 914-522-2076.

Editor's Note: The article has been corrected to reflect that Cardinal McCloskey was to purchase the home and that families were committed to help them fundraise for the program. It was initially reported that the families were purchasing the home.