Addict Clinic To Stay Open

BOARD REJECTS PROTEST OVER METHADONE UNIT

A methadone clinic off Route 51 will remain open despite protests from
about 1,500 residents of Brookline, Overbrook and Bon Air who signed
petitions trying to shut it down.

Yesterday, Clifford Levine, chairman of the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of
Adjustment, told about 15 protesters that the clinic -- called
Alliance Health Services and situated at 729 Ensign Ave. -- was issued
an occupancy permit Oct. 18 because it met zoning requirements in the
neighborhood industrial district.

"It is a permitted use," said Levine, explaining why the board would
not revoke the occupancy permit, as requested by the protesters. "We
have absolutely zero discretion."

Residents who live near the facility are disappointed.

"They are a hop, skip and a jump from me," said Dolores Hutton, who
lives on Timberland Avenue.

Hutton and other residents are worried about the people who will be
treated at the clinic and whether they will be driving around her
neighborhood in some kind of altered state of mind.

Methadone is a synthetic drug used to treat heroin addicts by
relieving their withdrawal symptoms and reducing drug craving. It is
usually swallowed and a single dose lasts from 24 to 36 hours.

Stephen Shaner, a partner in Alliance Health Services, said the clinic
treats about 50 patients who visit between 5 and 11 a.m. for
treatment. He said most are employed and live within two miles of the
clinic.

"They are here about five minutes," he said, adding that "there is no
euphoric effect" to the treatment.

Amy Montgomery of Brookline, a candidate for the City Council District
4 seat vacated by Michael Diven, filed the petitions on behalf of the
neighbors, asking the zoning board to revoke the permit. But
Montgomery was unable to provide evidence needed to persuade the board
to reverse the decision of city Zoning Administrator Jim Brown.

Still, she believes the clinic is disregarding the community's
safety.

There are no private homes on Ensign, a dead-end street in a
commercial area that parallels Route 51 opposite Saw Mill Run. The
street is at the bottom of the hill on which Brookline sits, but,
according to city maps, Ensign is in Bon Air.

Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said
the clinic was licensed on Dec. 8. It moved into the building formerly
occupied by the Wild Thingz club.

Montgomery said residents won't appeal the zoning board's decision.
She said residents will monitor the clinic and report any questionable
activities to the proper federal and state agencies.