Planning a new Abbey Manor

Island Park residents worried about the sale and new owner of Abbey Manor had some of their concerns addressed at a special meeting of the Island Park Civic Association on June 22.

The association brought the property's new owner, Promoting Specialized Care and Health, to the Island Park Library so representatives of the company could speak to residents about the planned changes to the Abbey Manor building.

The property actually stretches across two parcels — the main building, at Long Beach Road and Carolina Avenue, and a second parcel to the north, across Florida Avenue, with a parking lot and a small building.

PSCH plans to demolish the second building as well as some small, outlying buildings on the main property. It also plans to renovate the interior of the main building, changing the layout from shared rooms, with a capacity of 99 residents, to 50 single-occupancy studio apartments. The exterior will also be completely redone.

"The plan ... is to change the building," said Alan Weinstock, PSCH's owner, "and to change the environment in the building."

Weinstock plans to convert Abbey Manor from an adult home — which residents in the area claim is somewhat unsupervised, with residents walking the streets at night — to a more supervised rehabilitation center for people recovering from mental illnesses. According to Weinstock, the new facility will be the last stop for its residents before they are reintegrated into society.

PSCH has already begun to move current Abbey Manor residents into other homes, and Weinstock said that by the end of the summer, the building should be vacant. Architect Mitchell Newman estimates that if all of the building permits are approved, it will take about two years for the project to be completed.

When the new building opens, prospective residents will have to go through a screening process before they are admitted, Weinstock said. This helped to assuage the fears of residents who attended the meeting, many of whom told stories about residents wandering the streets at night and drinking — sometimes even entering strangers' homes.

"If someone is drinking in the street and causing trouble, we'll ask them to leave [Abbey Manor]," Weinstock said. He added that if residents have problems or concerns, there will always be a staff member at the front desk, and there will also be a hotline they can call 24 hours a day.

PSCH presented its plans to the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board on June 30. The board table discussion of the proposition until a later date, which has yet to be determined.

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