State Supreme Court justice rejects Glen Cove's appeal to block eating disorders clinic

A state Supreme Court justice has ruled against Glen Cove’s attempt to block a residence for people with eating disorders from opening across from the Nassau Country Club.

An executive with Miami-based Monte Nido & Associates said Friday that, with the ruling, it will close in the next few days on the purchase of the private home on St. Andrews Lane. The home will be converted into a 14-bed residence for people with anorexia nervosa, bulimia and other eating disorders. The goal is to begin accepting clients in the spring, said Jennifer Gallagher, chief development officer for Monte Nido.

“We believe this is a victory for the residents of Long Island, that there will now be a residential treatment center close to home,” Gallagher said.

In a ruling signed Wednesday and released Friday, Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Anthony L. Parga said a May decision by state Office of Mental Health Commissioner Ann Marie T. Sullivan allowing the residence “had a rational basis and was supported by substantial evidence.”

The city had appealed Sullivan’s decision, arguing it was “arbitrary and capricious.”

City spokeswoman Lisa Travatello said in an email that “Mayor [Timothy] Tenke has not received a copy of the decision as of yet. Once he does, he will review it and discuss the potential next steps with the Glen Cove City Council and City Attorney next week.”

Residents opposed to the facility say the residence — and the 10 to 12 additional parking spaces planned for the 1.26-acre property — would be out of character in a mostly residential neighborhood.

Nancy Toher Hawkins, whose in-laws live next to the home, on Friday urged the city to appeal the ruling.

She said Sullivan’s decision relied on incorrect information, including that the home is in a “commercial corridor.”

“There were many things in that decision that let me know she was completely unaware of the nature of our community,” Hawkins said.

The only residential facility in the state for adults with eating disorders is a 14-bed Monte Nido house in Irvington in Westchester County. 

“We have to send our clients across bridges or out of state,” Sondra Kronberg, executive director of the Jericho-based Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative, said Friday. “The families are disrupted and it’s expensive. We need this. We’ve needed it for years.”