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Drug Detox Center Slated to Open on Upper East Side Despite Concerns

By Shaye Weaver | November 16, 2016 5:54pm
 Ocean Recovery East wants to open an inpatient facility at 113 E. 60th St., which is a few doors down from a church, a school, and a bar.
Ocean Recovery East wants to open an inpatient facility at 113 E. 60th St., which is a few doors down from a church, a school, and a bar.
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DNAinfo/Shaye Weaver

UPPER EAST SIDE — A detox facility charging clients with drug addictions and eating disorders $3,500 a day for treatment got the blessing of the local community board to open a center on East 60th Street — but only after a thorough grilling from neighbors.

The California-based Ocean Recovery plans to open its first East Coast location at 113 E. 60th St. near Park Avenue, with 18 inpatient rooms, sparking fears from neighbors who worry it will increase crime on their block, which is also home to the Children's All Day School.

"They are there voluntarily, which means they can leave the facility," said resident Ira Meister. "All I know is that we've got a bunch a little kids next door and a bar on the block."

Representatives from the company presented preliminary plans for the center to Community Board 8's health committee on Tuesday, and fielded questions from neighbors about their expected clientele and day-to-day operations.

John Crepsac, a clinical social worker and Ocean Recovery rep, told concerned residents that the high cost of their treatment should be an indication of what kind of clientele they'd be serving.

Stays at Ocean Recovery, which specializes in prescription drug addictions, often last anywhere from seven to 14 days, which means the typical cost of treatment is between $24,500 and $49,000, he said.

"A low-income person is not paying $3,500 a day for anything," Crepsac said. "The likelihood of someone coming to us with a history of armed robberies is fanciful at best. They might have offenses but they'd all be related to the drug policy we have in the United States."

He added that patients will be screened and those who are admitted are likely to not leave the facility during treatment.

"They will be on medications that will ease their withdrawal, so it's not a service people want to leave," he said. "They want to stay as long as possible to have the smoothest detox. It's extremely rare for them to leave."

Patients rooms and elevators will be locked through a magnetic lock security system, and if someone wants to leave, a staffer would have to unlock them. A doorman who will double as a security guard will also be in the lobby, Crepsac said.

Residents of Newport Beach, California, filed a complaint with the city in 2009 taking issue with second-hand smoke, profanity, littering and loud noise from Ocean Recovery's clients, according to online records.

When asked about the complaints during the meeting, representatives would only say there were no major issues with their West Coast facility.

"It was a NIMBY problem with providers and we never had to address it," said Kathy Tunney, the company's executive director. "The city [of Newport Beach] shut down two similar facilities but it was never a personal issue with Ocean Recovery. I can assure you the city never had any issue with how I provided care."

The company still needs approval from the city's Department of Health and the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services before it can open in the East 60th Street building. There's currently a retail space on the ground floor, but the facility plans to take over that space along with the rest of the building, Tunney said.

This is Ocean Recovery's third attempt to move into a building on the Upper East Side. The other two locations, at 30 E. 60th St. and 64 E. 61st St. did not work out for various reasons, the reps said.

In January 2015, the full community board supported the location at 30. E. 60th St., but it didn't work out because the landlord couldn't allow overnight stays.

Then in March, the company revised its plans to move into 64. E. 61st St. That didn't work out because it wasn't properly zoned, according to CB8 officials.

The company presented its latest plans to move into 113 E. 60th St. in September this year, but not enough members were at the committee meeting to vote on it.

This time, the committee approved it unanimously, aside from one abstention.

"Seventeen or 18 people are less than are in this room," committee co-chair David Liston said, referring to the max number of patients the new facility would be serving.

"Our reaction tonight should be better than it was 200 years ago to leprosy," he continued. "We should respect what they're doing because 17 people might not be addicted [anymore]."

Community Board 8 was expected to vote on the committee's resolution on Wednesday night at its full board meeting.