May 21-STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Six years after receiving money to develop a 25-bed residential treatment facility on the grounds of Sea View Hospital for women and children, the city Department of Buildings has finally given the green light.
Camelot of Staten Island was awarded $750,000 by the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) in 2018 to develop the treatment facility, but the project has been plagued by delays since its inception.
The initial anticipated open date was 2021.
Luke Nasta, executive director of Camelot, told the Advance/SILive.com that the Buildings Department has fully approved plans for the existing administration building, so now OASAS and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) can put out a request for proposals (RFP) and select a contractor to perform the work.
Camelot of Staten Island filed an application with the Buildings Department for the interior alteration of approximately 15,000 square feet of the existing Seaview Administration building, located at 460A Brielle Ave. in Sea View, to construct a new non-profit institution with sleeping accommodations.
The most recent delay was in November 2022 when the Buildings Department found issues with plumbing and fire safety plans filed with the application. This required the agency's plan examiners to reject the plan.
Nasta told the Advance/SILive.com that construction could potentially begin by the end of 2023.
When Amethyst House closed in February 2022, Staten Island lost its only substance use treatment facility for women, leaving the borough's treatment community with a gaping hole. Its closure makes the need for the Seaview facility that much more important.
Construction of Camelot's Port Richmond residential treatment facility is also underway after eight years of delays. Camelot received a $1 million grant from OASAS in 2015, with a target construction date of 2017 and open date of 2019. But it has yet to open.
"It's moving. There's work being done on nearly a daily basis," Nasta said.
The existing building, located at 263 Port Richmond Ave. in Port Richmond, was demolished and leveled earlier this year, and construction of the new facility began once the Buildings Department approved work permits for the location.
The target open date is now June 2024.
The construction of the new facility will add 35 treatment beds for males 18 and older and will offer residential treatment services, including medication-assisted treatment and group and individual therapy, as well as outpatient services.
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