The fate of an Albany substance abuse clinic remains in limbo.
It's been about six months since public officials and local businesses held a press conference on a Central Avenue sidewalk, demanding the relocation of Camino Nuevo. The clinic offers programs, medication-assisted treatment and a safe-haven for people in recovery. The facility has been targeted since it first opened its doors in 2015.
In February, Albany County Legislature Chair Andrew Joyce pointed out that just 40% of Camino Nuevo patients live in Albany County, and only 15% are city residents. Officials says they’ve fielded numerous complaints about the impact the facility has had on the surrounding neighborhood. Recent media reports suggest a proposed law would stop Camino Nuevo from moving. Democratic County Executive Dan McCoy.
"So you really have to go to the Albany County legislature, they put that resolution in. So it could be in jeopardy because of the resolution. So obviously we're looking at it ourselves. So I would contact the chair’s office or one of the legislators," said McCoy.
County Legislator Alison McLean Lane, a Democrat who represents the village Menands, tells WAMC legislation she introduced only requires local governmental units, which in this case is the Albany County Department of Mental Health, provide a letter of notice to local elected officials when a treatment facility applies to open a clinic in their district.
Democratic County Legislator Merton Simpson represents the 2nd District, which includes Arbor Hill, Sheridan Hollow, Washington Park and West Hill in the city of Albany.
"In our case with Camino Nuevo and a similar case with Menands, it has a very negative effect on the local community and the other sites," Simpson said. "Albany County is 533 square miles. You don't have to put it in the most vulnerable communities where in the case of Camino Nuevo, the actual clients are preyed upon by drug dealers and the like. “
City officials have long maintained that downtown Central Avenue is not an appropriate location for a methadone clinic. Simpson paraphrased Democratic Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who told reporters in December 2021 the facility is "an attractive nuisance" that gives drug dealers an opportunity to prey on people who have substance abuse issues.
"Those of us who've been working on this issue for years now have been advocating for and we believe have made the progress that we were looking for, which is to be announcing soon that that clinic will be moving we hope within the next 12 months," said Sheehan.
Simpson argues McLean Lane's proposed legislation involves "only a notification."
"It has no power. The real practical need is that communities like mine have a better chance of making an argument of why this is inappropriate, because we know it's coming, as opposed to try to undo it after it's in place. And the real issue is, it seems like what they're saying is, we don't want to give the real issue, the issue of differential political power. What they're saying is, we want to sneak this in so people don't have a chance to make an argument. Camino Nuevo is really the best case why this law is needed. And my concern is that, in the absence of this kind of a law, they're going to be dumping more things like this in my community in the future," said Simpson.
A representative of the Acacia Network, which operates Camino Nuevo, recently declined to be interviewed but told WAMC the organization is aware of the ongoing concerns.
