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Lawsuit Seeks To Hold Property Owner & Operators Of Adult Home Responsible For Disruptive & Dangerous Behavior Of Its Residents
THE LEGAL BEAT
The Village of Haverstraw, along with the Town of Haverstraw, filed suit in Rockland County Supreme Court last week against the owners and operators of Green Hills Adult Care and Assisted Living Facility, claiming Green Hills fails to supervise its residents whose behavior has harmed residents of both the town and village.
Plaintiffs describe an ongoing situation where unsupervised residents of the state-licensed assisted living facility have wreaked havoc in the area surrounding Green Hills, which includes the village, citing more than 600 police calls dating back to 2022.
Haverstraw Police have documented crimes and breaches of the peace from loitering, littering, panhandling, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and drug use, as well as numerous civil offenses caused by residents at Green Hills Estates For Adults located at 1 South Route 9W in the Village of Haverstraw.
“The Village has been saddled for years with being the recreational outlet for these residents, most of whom have mental health issues,” said Village of Haverstraw Mayor Mike Kohut. “They endanger themselves and motorists in navigating Route 9W and crossing active railroad tracks to come in to the downtown, to then panhandle, rummage through garbage cans, urinate and defecate, and walk around like zombies. There is no attention or guidance paid to them by any Green Hills personnel unless and until one of them gets hurt or killed, or get collected by the Town Police for some infraction or another. There is zero supervision by anyone at the facility, no matter how limited or impaired an individual may be. ”
The four defendants are Haverstraw PropCo LLC (owner of the property), Green Hills LLC, Hudson Senior Day Care LLC, and Magnolia Home Care Services, LLC.
Defendant Haverstraw PropCo, LLC, an arm of Brooklyn-based The W Group, purchased the facility from Eagle Crest Realty last April for $12.25 million. The W Group owns and manages adult homes and assisted living facilities in New York, partners with a Place For Mom, and has more than 20 facilities in New York State. A Place For Mom is an adult care referral site that lists more than 18,000 facilities nationwide.
Green Hills has capacity for 164 residents, and according to the NYS Department of Health, has 51 “Assisted Living Program” beds. Its website says it provides expert medical care, 24-hour support staff, and assistance with daily activities.
Operating out of the same building, Magnolia Home Care Services is a New York State Licensed Home Care Services Agency (LHCSAs) offering home care services to clients who pay privately or have private insurance coverage. Hudson Senior Day Care LLC, also operating out of 1 South Route 9W, is an Adult Day Care center.
Most of the allegations in the complaint pre-date Haverstraw PropCo’s ownership.
Adult Care Facilities (ACFs) provide long-term, non-medical residential services to adults who are substantially unable to live independently due to physical, mental, or other limitations associated with age or other factors. Adult Care Facilities are not licensed to provide for nursing or medical care.
In New York State, Assisted Living Programs (ALP) provide services to people who are medically eligible for nursing home placement but in a less medically intensive, lower cost setting. The ALP provides personal care, room, board, housekeeping, supervision, home health aides, personal emergency response services, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical supplies and equipment, adult day health care, home health services, and the case management services of a registered professional nurse.
Operators of Adult Care Facilities are required to provide an organized, twenty-four hour-a-day program of supervision, care, and services, which include personal care, case management. They are also required to have knowledge of the general whereabouts of each resident and monitor residents to identify changes in behavior.
The complaint alleges that despite its state-mandated obligation to supervise residents, unsupervised residents have littered, loitered, wandered, trespassed, begged, panhandled, harassed and disturbed, defecated, urinated, and rummaged through trash and recyclables, obstructed traffic, and otherwise created a public and private nuisance in the community.
The Village and Town are seeking declaratory judgments establishing that defendants’ lack of supervision is unlawful and results in violations of village and town ordinances.
They are also seeking a temporary, preliminary and permanent injunction directing that Defendants properly supervise, monitor, and care for the facility’s residents, including a court order precluding Defendants from allowing residents to leave the facility unsupervised.
An additional count, charging “Public Nuisance” details a history of violations of law cited by the Haverstraw Police dating back to 2002. In one instance, a resident wandered off the property and was found sleeping in a hallway in a Main Street building. In another incident, an elderly resident who was reported missing was found trespassing in an alleyway on Hudson Avenue.
Other reports including the filing of false police reports by a resident who after leaving the facility claimed that “invisible people were pulling at her” near the train tracks on Clove Avenue. Another claimed after wandering off the premises she was “followed to church” where another individual “looked at her” strangely. Other residents “spit and yelled” at passersby on New Main Street, and obstructed traffic and trespassed. Other reports include allegations in 2024 of exposing themselves in public, urinating in public, and smoking at a local gasoline service station.
Allegations against the owner/operator charge intentional neglect, and negligent supervision, and gross negligent supervision. The Village and Town claim that defendants’ actions were “undertaken willfully, wantonly, maliciously, and in reckless disregard” of the Plaintiff’s rights, and ask for economic, exemplary, and punitive damages.
According to the New York State Department of Health, a total of 40 violations resulted from 15 inspections of this facility from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2024, including three inspections resulting in no violations. Violations related to Food Service, Personnel, Environmental, Resident Services, Resident Funds & Valuables, Records and Reporting, and General Conditions.
The most recent state inspection on the DOH website in July of 2024 cited failure to “monitor residents to identify abrupt or progressive changes in behavior or appearance which may signify the need for assessment and service.” In another citation, the Department noted failure to arrange appropriate professional evaluation or transfer to another facility when a resident presents a danger to himself or others; and failure to keep proper case management records.
The W Group is no stranger to difficulties at its facilities. Its Adult Care Facilities in the Bronx, Bronxwood Assisted Living and the Riverdale Home For Adults, have been the subject of scrutiny over care of its residents and management of those properties since 2022. Broadview Manor in Staten Island, a W Group facility, has a long history of violations from the New York State Department of Health.
Berry and Aryeh Weiss, who are brothers, lead The W Group. Berry Weiss is chief executive of The W Group while Aryeh is Chairman of the W Group, the company website said. A request for comment from the W Group went unanswered, as did a request for comment from the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman.
