BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 32 OVEMBER 15-21, 2019 BTR
The groundbreaking of the Richard Pruss Wellness Center. Photo courtesy of Samaritan Village
New substance abuse
treatment facility
set for Mott Haven
BY JASON COHEN
A medical facility that will serve
more than 6,000 individuals annually
is coming to the low-income, federally
designated medically underserved
Mott Haven community.
On Wednesday, November 13, Senator
Luis Sepúlveda and Offi ce of Alcoholism
& Substance Abuse Services
(OASAS) Commissioner Arlene
González-Sánchez joined Samaritan
Daytop Village in the groundbreaking
of the Richard Pruss Wellness Center.
Established in 1960, Samaritan
Daytop Village is nationally recognized
for its treatment of substance
use disorder as well as for helping veterans.
Located at 362 E. 148th Street, it
will be a six-story building and 84,000
square feet.
The multi-use facility will include
primary care and dental care, individual
and group counseling and therapy,
substance addiction treatment, and
administrative space.
The project is being developed by
Manatus Development Group LLC and
will cost $35 million.
Four existing Samaritan Daytop
Village programs will relocate to this
building, keeping more than 180 jobs
in the neighborhood.
The existing area programs to be
relocated to this facility are: New Beginnings
Community Counseling
Center, at 2780 3rd Avenue, Hope Care
Management Program, 368 E. 148th
St., Independence Outpatient Treatment
Program, 2776-78 3rd Avenue and
Willis Avenue Opioid Treatment Program,
477-479 Willis Avenue.
Samaritan Daytop Village’s president,
Mitchell Netburn, told the Bronx
Times, the new facility will benefi t the
entire neighborhood. The four centers
that are closing are all outdated.
Netburn said about 10 to 15 percent
of the building will be dedicated to primary
care and the remainder will be
for treating people with chronic illnesses
and opioid addiction.
He noted that he has met with members
of Community Board 1 and elected
offi cials and they support the project.
“We’ve been a part of the community
for a long time,” he said. “The
needs of the community have grown.
Nobody wants to go to three different
locations for services. It’s just an inconvenience.
To better serve the clients
and the community, we felt that
there should be a state of the art one
stop shop.”
This ‘one-stop shop’ for medical and
behavioral health services is named in
honor of the late Richard Pruss, president
emeritus and former board chair
of Samaritan Village (later re-named
Samaritan Daytop Village).
A pioneer in the fi eld of substance
use disorder treatment, Pruss became
president and CEO of Samaritan Village
in 1974 and led the agency until
his retirement in 2008.
During his tenure, Samaritan grew
from a single outpatient clinic in Richmond
Hill to one of the largest nonprofi
t treatment service providers in
New York State.
Occupancy is expected during the
fi rst quarter of 2021.