Bensonhurst parents seek to save their son’s home at BDC
Life is about to get even more difficult for 50-year-old John Cosentino, who has been living at the Brooklyn Developmental Center (BDC) for over 35 years, according to his parents, Bensonhurst residents Anthony and Mary Ann Cosentino.
A move announced last September by the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to shut down four large “lockdown” housing facilities for the developmentally disabled, BDC included, has the Cosentinos scrambling for another home for John, even though the state-run facility – one of the only facilities of its kind — is already considered by many to be a “last resort.”
John, diagnosed with severe autism at the age of three, requires constant supervision and first came to BDC at age 14 with acute behavioral problems including aggression, pica (the eating of inedible items) and self-injury. BDC’s 24-hour patient-care and college campus-sized site, his parents said, was perfect for him.