On Monday a federal judge ruled that the state must begin moving mentally ill New Yorkers out of "warehouse-like" institutions into more normal quarters, but concerned parties are already voicing their objections. "We are ground zero of this grand experiment that the judge has unleashed," City Councilman James Sanders Jr., a representative for Far Rockaway which houses many of the group homes, told the Daily News. "No one knows what this is going to do." A patient at a facility in the area worried that though mentally ill New Yorkers want to "live their lives the way the rest of us do," it might not be possible. "These people don't even know how to shower or shave, let alone shop or cook," said Robert Evans, who plans to move out of his group home. "It won't work out."
Judge Garaufis's contentious ruling doesn't require mental patients to go live on their own, but it says the state must provide that option by building individual or smaller group units and allowing residents to move out of for-profit facilities. Cliff Zucker, executive director of Disability Advocates, said the order will be a "boon" for the area. "What is better for the community—to have a scattering of people who have psychiatric needs throughout the community or have 250 of them living on your block?" he asked. But Sanders worried the new demand for housing will outweigh the supply: "There is no room at the inn, so is there really freedom?"
Jeffrey Edelman, owner of the Wavecrest group home, was concerned for the facility's patients. "They are taking residents who are really not able to live on their own," he said. Last year Garaufis ruled that requiring mental patients to live in group homes violated the the Americans with Disabilities Act because, hidden away from society, the residents had no incentive to learn how to work, socialize or live normal lives.
