Blue Point civic group continues fight against drug and alcohol rehabilitation center

Blue Point civic group continues fight against drug and alcohol rehabilitation center

Some Blue Point residents are continuing to fight against a plan that would bring a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center to their community. 
News 12 reported last week that the facility would move into the St. Ursula Center, a convent that has been home to nuns for decades. 
Sister Joanne Callahan told News 12 that they can no longer afford to pay $900,000 each year and had no choice but to sell it. They reached an agreement with the Seafield Center, a private group that wants to turn the convent into a 76-bed alcohol and drug abuse rehab center for women. 
The Ursuline Sisters say the center has been a place of hope, healing and transformation since 1935. 
James Powers, of the Blue Point Civic Coalition, says his neighborhood is not the right place for a treatment center.
"We have a lot of kids down by the convent that walk past it every day. There is a crossing guard stationed there to take care of the needs of the kids, but it is a safety issue and a concern for parents in the district," says Powers.
Longtime resident Kevin Fitz says while he has his concerns, he says he sees a real need for these types of facilities on Long Island. 
"I feel for those people…They need help," says Fitz. 
Brookhaven Town says the move would require a zoning change. 
Officials from Seafield say they have operated a treatment facility in a residential neighborhood in Westhampton Beach for 32 years with no impact on quality of life or property values for residents.