In a split vote, Community Board 10 narrowly approved a proposed group home at Lawton Avenue.
The vote before the entire board, which took place on Thursday, September 18 at Fort Schuyler House in Throggs Neck, reflected the deep divisions in the community has regarding group homes in general, and a particular this home proposed for seven developmentally disabled men in their 40s and 50s at 2992 Lawton Avenue.
The home, which would be located in a newly constructed two-family house is sponsored by the Institute for Applied Human Dynamics.
CB 10 members voted 18 to 17 in favor of the group home with five abstentions.
“If there was another site, we would consider it,” said CB 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns before the vote was cast. “But right now, there isn’t another location.”
The Throggs Neck Home Owners Association did propose four alternate sites for the group home, including locations near Overing Street in Westchester Square, opposite another group home on Mayflower Avenue in Pelham Bay, and two other locations on Revere Avenue and Longstreet. At the last minute, a fifth site was suggested: the former headquarters of the Korony American Legion Post 253, which was recently sold.
“I am upset and disappointed with the outcome of the vote, but I welcome them to the community,” said Lynn Gerbino, president of the TNHOA. “We only lost by one vote, and will keep our eyes open.”
“I was hoping that the board would pass a resolution in favor of this location,” said Stanley Silverstein, executive director of the IAHD. “I sensed from the public hearing in July that the board had a good grasp of the issue. I am pleased Community Board 10 thought it an appropriate site for a group home.”
