Proposed group home in Fort Salonga met with opposition

Homeowners in Fort Salonga voiced their opposition Thursday at a public hearing on a plan to bring a group home to the area.

The hearing was held in Smithtown. The agency Woodbury-based Center for Developmental Disabilities presented its plan for the group home.

The new home on Old Route 25A has already went to closing. It's a five-bedroom, three-bath home that would house seven men with developmental disabilities.

Homeowners say they're worried about traffic, privacy, tax supervision and safety.

"How do we know the safety of our family? How do we know the psychological background that these people may have? What if they wander onto our property? How do we know that they're going to be supervised all the time?" says homeowner Joe Campanella.

There are about three-dozen group homes in the town of Smithtown. Two of them are in Fort Salonga.