New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services unjustly shuts down respectable alcohol/drug treatment agency and leaves over 1500 patients in the dust.
January 10, 2007 (Press Release) --
Up until February of 2006, Crossings was the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island with offices throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Unfortunately, Crossings was unjustifiably shut down by the state of New York. The diabolical actions that led to the demise of the company were executed by Henry Zwack, General Counsel for the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) in Albany. Zwack's wrong doing was co-conspired with the acting commissioner of OASAS, Shari Noonan. We have reason to believe that the Governor himself, George Pataki had his hand in it as well.
Crossings Recovery Centers had been in operation for almost 20 years and never had a blemish on its record. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (which is the licensing division for all substance abuse treatment providers in New York) had audited Crossings every year and had renewed its license with no issue. In late 2005, OASAS approved the acquisition of Passages Counseling Center, making Crossings the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island, with more outpatient clinics than any other provider, possibly even in the State. Only a few months later, OASAS issued a Determination to Revoke Crossings' operating license. If OASAS had concerns about Crossings' operations, why would it approve such an acquisition just months before?
In addition to providing substance abuse treatment to over 1500 patients on Long Island, Crossings also providing housing services. These housing facilities provided shelter to hundreds of homeless individuals who were in recovery from some type of an alcohol and/or drug addiction. Facilities such as these are commonly referred to as "Sober Homes".
The community has been opposed to sober homes for many years. It was a classic case of NIMBYism. No one wants a house with recovering addicts on their block. It didn't matter that Crossings wasn't breaking any laws. It was all about the bias that people have towards that particular population. The community had complained to the local politicians, despite the fact that there had never been any reports of disturbances caused by the residents at Crossings' housing facilities. The politicians, wanting to be re-elected had to do something about it so they applied pressure to their counterparts in Albany...OASAS.
When State officials analyzed the sober housing situation on Long Island, they also determined that in addition to public hysteria, Sober Housing, in conjunction with Treatment proved to be fairly lucrative to the treatment agency that was providing the services. This is when they got Henry Zwack involved. Zwack has a long history of corruption dating back to his time as the County Executive of Rennsalaer, a county just outside of Albany. Zwack was forced to resign due to charges of perjury, conspiracy, corruption and other legal atrocities. Zwack had proven hi
Crossings Recovery Centers had been in operation for almost 20 years and never had a blemish on its record. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (which is the licensing division for all substance abuse treatment providers in New York) had audited Crossings every year and had renewed its license with no issue. In late 2005, OASAS approved the acquisition of Passages Counseling Center, making Crossings the largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment on Long Island, with more outpatient clinics than any other provider, possibly even in the State. Only a few months later, OASAS issued a Determination to Revoke Crossings' operating license. If OASAS had concerns about Crossings' operations, why would it approve such an acquisition just months before?
In addition to providing substance abuse treatment to over 1500 patients on Long Island, Crossings also providing housing services. These housing facilities provided shelter to hundreds of homeless individuals who were in recovery from some type of an alcohol and/or drug addiction. Facilities such as these are commonly referred to as "Sober Homes".
The community has been opposed to sober homes for many years. It was a classic case of NIMBYism. No one wants a house with recovering addicts on their block. It didn't matter that Crossings wasn't breaking any laws. It was all about the bias that people have towards that particular population. The community had complained to the local politicians, despite the fact that there had never been any reports of disturbances caused by the residents at Crossings' housing facilities. The politicians, wanting to be re-elected had to do something about it so they applied pressure to their counterparts in Albany...OASAS.
When State officials analyzed the sober housing situation on Long Island, they also determined that in addition to public hysteria, Sober Housing, in conjunction with Treatment proved to be fairly lucrative to the treatment agency that was providing the services. This is when they got Henry Zwack involved. Zwack has a long history of corruption dating back to his time as the County Executive of Rennsalaer, a county just outside of Albany. Zwack was forced to resign due to charges of perjury, conspiracy, corruption and other legal atrocities. Zwack had proven hi
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