Updated 12/09/2009 08:33 AM
Neighbors concerned about construction of proposed autism home
Neighbors on Binghamton's South Side are speaking out against a plan that would bring a home for autistic children to their community. As our Janelle Burrell tells us, neighbors say because of the area's poor drainage, any construction on the private lot could mean more money coming out of their pockets.
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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Eileen Kumpon says she has spent thousands upon thousands of dollars repairing water damage to her home. And now, she says the problem could get worse - that's if the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities gets its way and builds a home for autistic children on the steeply sloped seven acre lot near Woodland Avenue on Binghamton's South Side.
Kumpon and more than 75 of her neighbors voiced their concerns to OMRDD officials at a neighborhood assemblies meeting Tuesday.
"I'm not opposed to putting the home up. We're opposed to the fact that we've had water damage continually for 41 years in our home," Kumpon said. "We're just fearful, terrified more water is going to happen if they start fooling on the hill."
OMRDD officials admit the community's concerns about are valid, but insist a thorough environmental review would ensure the problem is not exacerbated. They say the location is ideal for the group home.
"Its vicinity to local shopping and the Ross Park Zoo gives us the opportunity to give the individuals who are living there opportunities to live in the whole community," said Carl Letson, director of the Broome Developmental Disabilities Services Office.
"We feel strongly people with developmental disabilities have the right to live in the community just like everybody else," Letson said.
South Side neighbors maintain they're not opposed to the children, just the structure that would house them.
"We're not against the children. We welcome them. It's just, I think New York State make a very poor selection of this particular land," said Dorita Bozek.
If OMRDD succeeds with the purchase of the property, construction of the home would get underway in the spring of 2011.