Argus Community Inc. has scrapped its plans to take a 7,800 square foot space at 52-22 Roosevelt Ave. for a treatment facility (Photo: QueensPost)
July 2, 2019 By Christian Murray
A non-profit organization that announced last month that it was going to open a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center on Roosevelt Avenue has decided to scrap its plans.
Argus Community, a non-profit organization that treats people with substance abuse problems, notified Community Board 2 last week that it is no longer going to move ahead with its plan to move into 52-22 Roosevelt Ave., where it planned to treat up to 45 adults with drug and alcohol problems via an inhouse treatment program.
Denise Keehan-Smith, Community Board 2 Chair, said the board received a letter from Argus last week notifying them that the organization was no longer moving ahead with its plans. She said that Argus did not cite a reason.
Representatives from Argus, when they announced their plans to open a facility at Community Board 2’s Land Use committee last month, did receive pushback from committee members.
Members were not opposed to the opening of the facility—just its location.
“You should anticipate an enormous amount of community pushback,” said Patrick O’Brien, a member of the Land Use Committee and former CB2 Chair, to the Argus representatives at the time.
O’Brien, who recognized that Argus was providing an essential service, expressed concern that it would be located just a block away from the Quality Inn homeless shelter on Queens Boulevard. He said that many residents in this section of Woodside were already upset by the shelter.
He asked Argus to look for other sites in the district.
Additionally, O’Brien noted that the facility would be located near two schools—P.S. 11 and the Razi School—as well as the Woodside Library. He said that there have been problem bars and crime in that section of Roosevelt Avenue too, which is a poorly-lit stretch.
Representatives from Argus could not be reached. There is no word as whether the non-profit is looking at other sites.
Location of the proposed clinic (GMaps)
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38 Comments
To the Wikipedia Dummy: here is Wikipedia’s definition of Syndrome vs. Disease which you didn’t bother to investigate before you shot your mouth off. There IS a difference between Disease & Syndrome which the writer tried to Educate You about. Ever hear of AIDS? It is a Syndrome, Here are the words: Acquired Immune Deficiency SYNDROME. Here are some more medical terms you should wake up to: DISORDER: disruption of regular bodily structure function; SYNDROME: a collection of signs, symptoms with a specific health cause; CONDITION: abnormal state of health interferes with normal regular wellbeing So before you Jump all over a person Get Educated and Think before smashing a person –you just might learn something
The concept of addiction being labeled a Disease was sold to us to make it more acceptable to discuss, to sway the insurance companies to cover treatment and in turn allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums to the rest of us, business could sprout & profit from it too –it was a Win-Win attempt. Addictions are not a true disease like diabetes, you can’t make diabetes go away by not drinking liquor, shoving junk in your veins or up your nose, diabetes doesn’t incite robbery or burglary or prostitution, right? Addition should be labeled a “Syndrome”.
You might want to read a single thing about the thing you think you know about:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_dependence
Wikipedia is your source of information? That is scary. You used the word “thing” and the word “you” three times in one sentence = lack of ability to express yourself and failure to quote a reliable source invalidates whatever it is ‘you’ are attempting to utter.
Neat, personal insults. Getting back on topic, is there ANYTHING in the article that’s not true? Oh…there isn’t? Your argument is completely destroyed then.
I’m surprised you’ve never used Wikipedia. Not surprised you can’t say a SINGLE thing about how clueless you were about physical dependence, just attack me. How desperate.
Here’s 3 more sources:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1762111/
2. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323465.php
3. https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/withdrawal-from-antidepressants#1
Is there another pretend reason the ALL my 4 sources are wrong? ANY reason at all? ?
Wikipedia lists all references and resources at the bottom of their articles. You would know this if you ever read a Wikipedia page.
Disease Vs. Syndrome- People with diabetes can be irrational and even behave erratically when sugar levels are not controlled. Many diabetics “diabetic state” is normalized when their diet is corrected this is usually before it goes autoimmune .There are actual changes to the brain chemistry of the addicted. Anti depressants have proven to work to keep the addicted from relapsing. You sound horribly misinformed.
Never heard of a diabetic robbing a store, selling drugs, or selling their TV to normalize their blood sugar! – Yo, Yo, Yo just googled “diabetic state” and find Nothing which means “you sound horribly misinformed” with a non-existent medical term. Enlighten us and the medical world with the “Many diabetics” in their ‘diabetic state’ who rob and steal when their blood sugars are unbalanced
I guess you are one if the fortunate people who have never had to deal with addiction alcoholism or mental illness in your family. Your very lucky. But don’t bash what you have no experience with. Some drugs are physically addictive just like alcohol. And alcohol is legal. Until it’s your family friends etc who need the help and I would never wish that on anyone. Just don’t be so ignorant
Sad when communities continue to stigmatize people who are sick. Wake up, get educated! I am still watching the local dealer make his sales, blatantly, using the bus stop and corner store as his meet up spots. I’ve called it into 311, 108, etc. Imagine how great it is for kids to be walking by that scenario? I’d much rather be seeing a group of people getting help than just this who look like walking zombies lining up to get their stuff from the dealer. Might I add-every person I see him selling to is from the neighborhood, not the shelter, and he is also a resident in one of the coveted Sunnyside Gardens homes . Imagine that? Narrow minds happening around here!!! I hope none of your families need treatment in the area, there’s only one option, and they have a waitlist!!!
Also, we need to get rid of anywhere that can end drug addiction
–Trump voter
It’s kinda hard to end drug addiction by becoming addicted to the ‘cure’ drug.
That’s a good point, because one type of addiction treatment for one drug might not work, we should never treat any addictions.
I didn’t say that. It’s just most of the addicted are treated with another drug– a crutch. There is never any easy fix for this type of addiction. Take a look at My 600lb life. Dr. Now doesn’t immediately schedule them for the easy fix surgery, he makes them lose some weight beforehand. It’s for two reasons… One the size they are are not healthy for the weight loss surgery and two:… to get them to be involved in this process.
Just like the 600lb lifers… No one shoved the drugs into their bodies, just as no one put the forks to their mouths.
And nobody is born self righteous.
Thanks for agreeing that your first point “It’s kinda hard to end drug addiction by becoming addicted to the ‘cure’ drug” was completely wrong, and that you “weren’t” saying that.
Still waiting for any reason at all why we shouldn’t have treatment centers.
I’ll explain it for the simpletons…
No one shoved the needle in their arm or made them take the pills just as no one shoved a fork in the obese’s mouths.
Take responsibility for your actions and decisions.
Who cares if they’re on heroin or they got an opiate addiction from their doctor? Treating them and having less addicts on our streets helps our entire community.
What a completely selfless and clueless individual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_dependence
We could have used a better facility than Western Queens to treat individuals with addictions in Woodside.
We had drug rehab on Queen’s plaza South many years but it was mostly industrial area back when. This quiet hamlet is quickly changing for the worse. The era of knowing your neighbors is growing smaller. People don’t put down roots as they use too. As for JVB he was never interested in this community rather his career and his personal agenda which is sad. Prior community officials where more approachable.
Excellent decision. These rehabs and treatment centers do nothing for the patients they profess to help. They coerce patients into attending 12 step self help meetings under some false notion they have a “disease”. If these unfortunate souls indeed have a disease then they should be medically diagnosed and treated-not directed to a religious cult that occupies church basements, has no data to substantiate any claims of success, and no background checks on its membership-nothing. Keep these centers away from schools as well- many who enroll in these programs are habitual re-offenders
Do they know that there is a bar across the street?
This is Sunnyside/Woodside where ISN’T there a bar across the street?
Maspeth and Middle Village but they don’t want these facilities either, so what can you do?
This is just a small victory. If you can now focus on the sunnyside .mafia aka the euro mob that uses Bucharest as a front..then maybe you can get some real growth in sunnyside.
Dont believe me. Ask zen yai why they ain’t coming back to shitty corrupt sunnyside.
Great news this is a big residential area with a lot of children…..It’s bad enough the smell of marijuana all around us you can get high just by walking pass places…..
That’s too bad, I have a lot of friends that could have used this place.
Alleluia !!! Now I can relax and to continue to sit on my front porch . Someone did the right thing to not
bring drugs addicts & alcoholics to our area.
Please not against helping oneself with addiction but its bad enough already with hotel down the block this would be another South Bronx .
Not that people with an illness are shamed again. Addiction is an illness. Insurance wouldn’t put out a dime if they didn’t have too. You don’t hear much about diabetes or heart disease. Most people who understand are the ones who have had their family or a close friend.
Great News, thanks to CB2.
Thankfully, we have a group that works in the best interests for our community.
That does not mean you JVB- did not hear a peep from you on this.
You’re probably busy organizing the drag queen story hour.
So, how often do you think about drag queens?
A shame, people want to help addicts but not in their back-yard, community board 2 questions every developer when they want to build in the neighborhood and up in arms about affordable housing but when th Phipps Organization wanted to build affrodable housing on Barnett Ave near Jimmy Van Bramer’s housing in the Gardens, it was shut down. Hypocrites
Hey don’t be such a righteous toby! You want to be around a recovery center you move there. Proud about not my back yard!
super-fresh meme from 2012 there. Why do they say Trump lovers are completely unoriginal?
They whine about everything and behave like unique, fragile snowflakes.
What do we do when we get lost? Ask for directions if possible. What do they do? Stand there, panic and completely forget how to help themselves get help. I’ve seen it.
Thanks for explaining something realllly obvious. Trump came up with it — it’s not deep.
I was just pointing out that I thought it was only used sarcastically to make fun of you nowadays. I guess there are still a few people that are just out of touch.
Are here again!
Now we are talking…L.I.C.IS A BETTER LOCATION..I MUST ADMIT THOUGH,ARE THE LIBS AFRAID OF HELPING THESE PEOPLE IN THEIR CORRIDOR..NIMBY’S