Community Board 11 has voted to reject a proposal for a group home that has applied to open in Pelham Gardens.
A public hearing was held on Tuesday, October 20 by the Pelham Gardens Committee of CB11 so local residents could learn about and discuss the home planned for Lodovick Avenue.
“We had an open discussion, and some were for and some were against, the same as the community board vote,” said Joe Thurston, of the Pelham Gardens Committee.
The co-ed group home, through Community Action for Human Services, Inc., located 2225 Lodovick Avenue, would house six mentally disabled adults, requiring 24-hour supervision. The property is a newly constructed semi-attached, 2-family.
According to Thurston, the applicant is not creating a new home, but rather transferring individuals from an existing home in Community Board 6 to a new location.
The committee voted down the application based on their belief that the area is already overcrowded with group homes.
During the full board meeting on Thursday, October 22, the request was also turned down by a majority of the members.
“There are eight group homes, and three by the same applicant, within that 1-469 zip code,” said John Fratta, district manager of CB11. “The board’s opposition is saturation, we feel we have too much in that area.”
Fratta will now appear at a hearing to present the board’s rejection decision and prove oversaturation. Fratta explained that a problem is that there is no formal definition for what constitutes saturation.
“If you look at out community there is already one on Lodovick Avenue and one on Wickham Avenue a block away,” said Vinny Prezioso of CB11.
According to a source, there is currently no official agreement for the sale of the property to any buyer and construction on the property is not yet completed.
Community Action for Human Services, Inc. did not comment as of press time.
