Councilwoman Joann Ariola, the Beach 116th Street Merchant Association, Rockaway Civic Association, residents, and business owners are calling for the creation of a Rockaway Adult Care Facility Oversight Task Force to help tackle the longstanding quality-of-life concerns emanating from several adult care facilities and adult day programs operating near the Beach 116th Street commercial corridor. In an August 10 letter to several state and city agencies, Councilwoman Ariola laid out the goal of the Task Force.
While prior initiatives sought to hold properties accountable for building violations and other structural issues, this latest endeavor will go a step further and examine the programming within the facilities, to see why these programs are failing to keep people off the streets. To accomplish this, the Councilwoman and the letter’s co-signers, including several local businesses and civics, are asking for the NYS Department of Health, NYS Office of Mental Health, Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, NYC Department of Health, NYC Department of Buildings, and the NYPD to work together on a comprehensive review of adult care facilities and adult day programs surrounding Beach 116th Street.
“The residents of many of these homes have been a major problem for business owners and customers on Beach 116th Street for decades, and it’s long overdue that something be done about it,” Councilwoman Joann Ariola said. “When I was elected to office, the people of District 32 entrusted me to ensure and enhance their quality of life. Well, a good quality of life means that people can go shopping or go to the bank and not get screamed at for change or have to step over someone sleeping on the curb. That’s why I’m calling on my partners in government to get involved and help correct this longstanding situation, so that Beach 116th Street can once again become the jewel in Rockaway’s crown that it is meant to be.
“At the same time, the individuals being served by these facilities deserve real care and meaningful programs that keep them active, engaged, and off of our streets,” Councilwoman Ariola added. “If taxpayer dollars are being spent to provide those services, then we have every right to make sure those services are actually being delivered and not just pocketed by facility owners while the people entrusted to their care wallow away.”
“As President of the Rockaway Civic Association, I fully support the efforts being made to hold our local adult care facilities more accountable for the well-being and oversight of their tenants and patients,” Dr. Harold Paez said. “The Beach 116th Street businesses, public spaces and restaurants cannot become the de facto recreational rooms for these care facilities, which should be delivering a high level of support services and recreational engagement for these residents.
“The number one complaint that the civic receives is the constant presence of aggressive panhandlers and patients in various states of mental distress, to be found all along our business district,” Dr. Paez added. “These individuals are not homeless; they are residents of these housing and mental care facilities. The disproportionate burden our neighborhood carries, in terms of the number of transitional housing and adult care homes, has been an ongoing issue for many years. This has been brought up at the Community Board as well. CB 14 specifically submitted a request for city mental health outreach teams to address the vagrancy issue in Rockaway Park. This was submitted with our yearly Capital and Expense Item requests to the OMB. I hope that this renewed effort, by Councilwoman Ariola’s office, to bring the adult home owners and administrators into the community discussion, will be successful in addressing these challenges being faced by our main business district, and by the larger Rockaway Park community.”
“The situation on Beach 116th Street has been a problem for a long time, and these homes continue to turn a blind eye while their residents cause chaos outside of our business,” said Denise Diehm, owner of Beach 116th Street’s The Gift is Love. “Someone needs to step in and make sure that the homes are actually looking after the residents, so that they aren’t panhandling outside our stores and harassing our customers every day. This task force is long overdue, and I hope that the state listens and commits to improving our street.”
“We all want our streets to feel welcoming and safe for residents, businesses, and everyone who lives in our community,” local resident Elda Vale said. “Working together with the adult homes and organizations responsible for the care of their residents, many of whom spend their days along our streets, we can find positive solutions that give these individuals meaningful ways to spend their time while also respecting the needs of the neighborhood.”
