Setauket residents question homeless shelter site

A group of Setauket residents says a planned homeless shelter in their community would threaten one of the oldest historically black neighborhoods on Long Island, and they are petitioning Suffolk County to find a new location for the facility.

The proposed shelter, which county officials say would house 24 people, would be located at 42 Christian Ave., in the heart of Setauket's historic district - a community where some black families can trace their history back to the 1700s.

Several residents - including the pastor of 160-year-old Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is across the street from the site - said the shelter would hurt property values in a community where many residents are already struggling to remain in their homes.

Others said the shelter is too close to a school and not close enough to bus routes, which would leave many shelter residents stranded. Still others complained about putting a shelter in a residential neighborhood made up largely of families.

County officials said they are working with Setauket residents to find a new location for the shelter, which is planned for a vacant eight-bedroom house on a wooded hill.

"It's in a historic district, it's in a struggling minority community," said Faiza Akhtar, who lives nearby. "The community knows best as to where something should be situated."

The Christian Avenue site was proposed by Community Housing Innovations, a Patchogue-based company that contracts with Suffolk County to provide shelter services, said Ed Hernandez, the county's deputy director of social services.

A shelter is necessary in the area because Setauket does not have a shelter and because there are a growing number of homeless families in the county, Hernandez said; there are 391 homeless families in Suffolk - up from a high of 375 last year, he said.

Hernandez said the county's social services department is facilitating meetings between Setauket residents and Community Housing Innovations to find a "suitable alternative site."

He added: "There were a number of concerns raised by the community and we very clearly heard the ideas of the community."

Residents learned of the proposed shelter at a September community meeting hosted by Legis. Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Setauket), Akhtar said.

Viloria-Fisher declined to take a stance on whether the shelter should be located in the historic area, but said the county "has a great need to place families in shelter."

The Rev. Gregory Leonard, pastor of the Bethel AME Church, said the shelter would be better located near public transportation and stores. He added his church will work with the county to help find a location outside the historic district.

"It's right in the middle of our historic district, and the church has been here for over 160 years," he said. "It's home."

Residents said they hope to find and open a new location for the shelter before the winter months, when more people typically seek shelter space.