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.