Methadone clinic coming to Bustleton?

Question: How does one make Roosevelt Boulevard and Grant Avenue, long considered one of the most hazardous intersections in the country, even more dangerous? Answer: By adding hundreds of heroin addicts to the mix.

That’s the argument being made by elected officials and Bustleton residents livid over the Northeast Treatment Centers’ recently announced plan to open a methadone clinic at Grant and the Boulevard.

The clinic, which would be housed in the former MRI building, is only 15 feet away from residential properties.

Civic leaders say day-care centers, schools and more than 1,000 residents are within five blocks of the proposed clinic, which would treat more than 300 heroin addicts seven days a week.

“People are absolutely panic-stricken over this. This should not be behind people’s houses,” said Maureen Greene, a corresponding secretary for the Greater Bustleton Civic League.

A community meeting will be held at 7 tonight at the Anne Frank School, Clark Street and Lott Avenue, with representatives from Northeast Treatment Centers (NET), said City Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez.

Quinones-Sanchez called for a “massive” community turnout to convince NET to search for a different location.

“There is no doubt in my mind that people need treatment,” she said. “But I feel very strongly that if they’re going to be medicating folks, they should be situated in a hospital, where public safety could be addressed.”

Quinones-Sanchez, who represents the 7th Councilmanic District, said she and other leaders learned at a meeting just last month that the proposed clinic would open in April.

A NET official “approached me and said they identified a location that wouldn’t require zoning, and they were moving there,” Quinones-Sanchez said.

The official said the company wasn't obligated to notify residents about the planned clinic because the building had already been zoned to allow medical use, Quinones-Sanchez said.