Neighbor urges relocation of group home at 13 Chester Street, cites repeated police and fire calls

Peter Taylor, a longtime Glens Falls resident speaking on behalf of about 30 neighbors, urged the council to address what he described as a lack of oversight at a group home at 13 Chester Street operated by Ascend Mental Wellness (referred to in the transcript as the “Genesis House”).

Taylor described ongoing problems he said include frequent loud and disruptive behavior by residents, staff indifference, and multiple emergency responses. “For 20 years, we've tried to be good neighbors to a revolving door of chaos,” Taylor said, describing incidents including a resident repeatedly shouting in the middle of the night and another attempting to damage property.

Taylor said he had contacted Ascend Mental Wellness leadership (he left voicemails for a CEO and a chief financial officer identified in his remarks) and that calls were not returned. He told the council that neighbors have counted 24 fire calls to the property so far this year (through Sept. 23) and more than 60 police calls. Taylor said neighbors believe the location may be operating as a nonconforming use without an applicable variance and asked the council to consider nuisance-abatement authority and other remedies.

The remarks were delivered as public comment; no formal enforcement action or council vote on the facility was recorded in the transcript. Taylor said residents want the organization to find a new location for the group home and said repeated promises from the provider had not led to change.

Taylor characterized the problem as a serious disruption to neighborhood quality of life and urged the council to act on nuisance and code provisions. He also said neighbors had received limited help from on-site staff during incidents.