Bethpage-Tribune_1980-02-07

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B E T H P A 0 £ L IB
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ISLAND TREES PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 14 NO. 34 For The Week of February 7 - February 13,1980 20 cents par copy
The House on Haypath
She stood, calmly facing a
crowd she knew to be hostile.
They always are when Roberta
Sims Marks comes to town. The
Certified Social Worker is
standing before well over 300
citizens, mostly.from the Plain-view
Road, Haypath Road sec­tion
of Old Bethpage and Beth-page.
It is at this intersection, at
102 Haypath Road, a magnificent
white colunned home, that the
state plans to locate a hostel for
mentally retarded adults.
Cool in a two-piece green Qiana
outfit, knee high brown boots and
multi-colored kerchief, Marks
explains the. State's plans,
somewhat in the tone of a teacher
explaining a lesson before
petulant students. The upswept
hair tied tight in a bun lends to
the somewhat officious manner.
It is probably designed. Marks
has done this many times. Any
sign of weakness, of coddling,
and the crowd's emotions will
spill over, she'll lose control.
Questions arise, the crowd is
behaving. How many people will
be in i;he hostel? "Eight mentally
retarded adults and three
workers with custodial care
qualifications. The hostel is to be
constantly monitored by the
State, Willowbrook and the
Federal government," she adds.
A number of people state the
sight is dangerous for such a
hostel. There were 12 accidents at
the intersection in 1979, eight
accidents the preceding year.
Marks states the supervision
that the hostelites will receive is
such that neither she nor the state
believes this to be a problem. "At
any rate the State's Com­missioner
for the office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities, is to make the final
decision on purchasing the
hostel".
Evidently the State has already
decided. State officials said they
Would formally notify the Town of
Oyster Bay next week of the
proposal to purchase the Beth-page
house.
After notification, the Town
will have 40 days to accept the
site, suggest alternatives or seek
a hearing on the basis of over-saturation.
However the Town
has no decision making powers
on the site of the hostel, only the
state has.
As the townspeople begin to
realize they have virtually no say
at all in this matter tempers
flare, but Ron Grimaldi,
president of the Civic Association
of Bethpage manages to keep
order. Gradually, the questioners
look to Oyster Bay Councilman,
Salvatore Mosca and Assem­blyman
Lewis Yevoli (D-Old
Bethpage). Yevoli, who voted for
the law is against the site on the
grounds that the community is
saturated with similar facilities.
Mosca concurs, adding that the
traffic could pose a danger to
hostel residents and the State
should take this important fact
into consideration. The two of­ficials
disagree on some points of
the law as it is written.
Mosca says a nearby home for
runaway boys might be the
Town's best claim that the area is
oversaturated. Marks states the
hostel is a mile and two-tenths
away, beyond the limit. This
brings up another point that
Mosca and Yevoli jump on. Is
there a mile limit written into the
law. The answer is no. The law is
ambiguous on this point.
Several persons also question
the propriety of the state's buying
the Haypath Road house.
Robinson, the owner, has
renovated at least two houses
that were turned info hostels.
However everything is legal.
Robinson was low bidder and the
work is awarded on the basis of
sealed competitive bidding.
As the meeting draws to a close
the townspeople are in
agreement that the Town's of­ficials
should have some say in
the potential sites for the State's
hostels.
Finally a group which visited a
number of hostels gives a highly
favorable report. "They were
neatly kept, sometimes the
neatest homes in the area."
"Not one neighbor appeared to
have any hostility toward any of
the hostels we visited." "After
the usual initial uproar dies
down, the hostel is integrated into
the neighborhood fairly quickly."
One group at a far table ap­plauds.
The other tables in the
cafeteria remain silent.
Two-and-a-half hours after the
meeting began, the conversation
is exhausted and Grimaldi brings
the meeting to a close.
For Roberta Sims Marks,
C.S.W., and program develop­ment
specialist, the meeting has
been positive. At least as positive
at these meetings can be for her.
The townspeople have acted
emotionally, yet, civilly. No
matter what the decision is, the
town will absorb and survive,
(additional articles on this
subject are on page 2, Letters to
the editor and on page 3, Estelle
Wenig and where will he go?)
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