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School conversion draws wary eyes
By John J. Hopkins Times
Residents who live near the former Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic School, targeted for conversion into apartments for developmentally disabled persons, expressed concern for their safety and accused the developer, church and town officials of "pushing through" the project.
Eight residents stepped up to voice their opinions on the project during a public hearing Monday at Town Hall. Some residents cited fear of the apartment building's potential tenants, while others questioned the method in which information was provided to the public.
Savarino Construction Company and Southeast Works hope to build 24 apartments at the Clinton Street building, which has remained mostly vacant since it was closed in June 2003 by the Buffalo Diocese.
Resistance to the project from residents during a public hearing Monday in Town Hall prompted the town board to table plans to rezone the property. However, the board did pass a resolution expressing its support for the project.
The board took this step to help the developers meet a deadline to apply for New York State grants that would help fund the $6.5 million project.
Sam Savarino, chief executive officer for Savarino Construction, said the building's tenants will be developmentally disabled persons who need "a little bit of help" with dayto day living with a "moderate" amount of supervision.
Judy Shanley, executive director of Southeast Works, said tenants would receive on-site services such as help with cooking, banking and learning bus routes.
Savarino said New York State housing officials and Governor Eliot Spitzer have placed a priority on similar housing projects.
"We feel it's the highest and best use and will have the least amount of impact on the neighborhood," Savarino said. "These people will be good neighbors."
Residents who live nearby aren't convinced, however.
Sharon Sadowski, a registered nurse who lives at 25 Meadowbrook Parkway, said she has witnessed firsthand disabled persons becoming violent or abusive.
"There's a lot of people on my street who live alone," Sadowski said, "and when I come home from work I don't want a 21-year-old man in my back yard who's been drinking at a bar down the street. Remember, there's no supervision."
Sadowski also said that a person who needs to be taught how to cook "is not self-sufficient."
Noreen Noller, who owns an apartment house at 57 Willowlawn Parkway, said she has a tenant who is scared at the prospect of a potentially violent person living down the street from her.
Noller added she works at a businesses that employs disabled persons from Southeast Works and, as a security guard, she has witnessed developmentally disabled persons become violent.
"I have seen them get to the point where they have to have a couple of people restrain them, especially the men," Noller said. "They can become violent and I'm not real happy with having them in my neighborhood."
Shanley said Southeast Works provides service to roughly 400 adults. Southeast Works has 68 persons who live in residential settings it operates. Those homes, however, provide 24-hours-a-day supervised nursing services.
"We do not have a significant amount of aggressive behavior," Shanley said. "Can I predict human behavior? No."
Tim Krawczyk of 84 Meadowbrook said a friend who serves on the Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish Council used to keep him informed about the building's status. In recent months, he said the friend "won't answer" his questions.
Krawczyk also expressed disappointment that he did not receive notification of a meeting with residents hosted last Saturday by Savarino and the church.
"I found out about the meeting through a friend," Krawczyk stated. "This is being pushed through."
Persons who attended that meeting estimated attendance at between 50-75 residents.
Sadowski termed the tone of residents at Saturday's meeting as "very negative," but Savarino called the observation "a mischaracterization."
According to Savarino, some residents at the meeting "understood a little" about the disabled community, and spoke favorably about the project, but acknowledged that some residents left the meeting unconvinced that it is a good project.
Other residents also were dissatisfied with how notification was handled. Some, such as Paul Iannuzzelli of 69 Meadowbrook, requested the board take more time to ensure that the best decision is made.
"It would only take a handful of news articles reporting bad things that happened to drive down property values," Iannuzzelli said.
Savarino initially planned to build the apartments with the Olmstead Center to provide housing to the blind and handicapped. That plan was announced in May 2007 and reported in the Cheektowaga Times.
Savarino noted that the Buffalo Diocese would not permit certain uses- such as a charter school- for the building, and added that New York State is placing "a disincentive" on senior housing. The Southeast Works alternative, he believes, would be the best reuse for the building.
Because developmentally disabled persons are living longer and there is a dearth in housing, Shanley said some Southeast Works adults have been on a housing waiting list for three to four years.
"We know that we have a significant number of people who need a more independent kind of setting," Shanley said. "That's what we see this providing access to."
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