Senator Padavan's Letter to St. John's Fr. Harrington

October 9, 2007 

Fr. Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President St. John's University 

8OOO Utopia Parkway 

Jamaica, NY 11437 

Rc: Proposed Dormitory - Henley Road, Jamaica Estates, Queens 

Dear Fr. Harrington: 

I am in receipt of your letter dated September 19, 2007 and am deeply 

troubled by the content. You have stated to us in your letter: "Now 

that negotiations are concluded, a more complete and comprehensive 

public dialogue will occur," When will the public dialogue occur? 

When the University established the St. John's Dialogue Group in 

1998, the following purposes and goals were further stated:

Establish a process for communication between SJU and the community 

Open lines of communication on a regular basis 

Share concerns in a mutually open environment 

Provide new information regarding the unfolding of the University's 

Master Plan 

Listen to community concerns 

Has there been any dialogue with the community concerning Henley Road

dormitory? Have you shared the community's concerns in a mutually 

open environment? Have you listened to the community's concerns? 

Have you provided the unfolding of the University's Master plan? 

The reality is that St. John's University initially denied anything to do 

with the Henley Road project. The University only admitted to its 

involvement with the project when sufficient evidence came forth to render

St. John's denials completely incredible. When will the dialogue occur and

when will the University respond to the community's concerns?

I have another great concern. In your letter you stated the 

following, "We believe using history as our guide, any early and 

isolated community concerns will soon give way to a peaceful and 

neighborly coexistence." I have taken the opportunity to research the 

history of St. John's University residents halls.. Reviewing your own 

published Campus Acts Statistics for the calendar year 2005. (The 

most recent I was able to locate.) 2004 and 2003 I found that St. 

John's published the following statics for the Queens Campus 

Residence Halls: 

Calendar year 2005 

Forcible Sex offenses 1 

Aggravated Assault 1 

Burglary 22 

Liquor Law Violations 234 

Drug Law Violations 29 

Calendar Year 2004

Forcible sex offenses 1 

Burglary 40 

Arson 1 

Liquor Law Violations 260 

Drug Law Violations 51 

Calendar Year 2003  

Forcible sex offenses 2 

Burglary 22 

Liquor Law Violations 241 

Drug Law Violations 26 

These are reported crimes that occurred in residents' halls which are 

located on your campus, in a fenced and secured area directly under 

the control of your security staff, as well as your faculty and 

religious personnel, some of whom reside on campus. These crimes 

occurred right in front of you and your entire staff. 

How can you justify building a dormitory which is stated to house 485 

young students away from your campus, away from your security; and 

away from your supervision and place this dormitory in the midst of a 

quiet, residential area? You are now subjecting the surrounding 

residents to the problems and criminal activity that is known to 

exist within your facility. 

On September 18, 2007, having received information concerning your 

proposed dormitory construction, I received an e-mail from one of the 

residents adjacent to your proposed site stating the following, "I 

have two young girls that love to roll down our front lawn. Traffic 

is still low. The street is still sunny and safe and green. That will 

surely change once the dormitory goes up on our block." How do you 

respond to this parent? 

Recently, at the St. John's Dialogue group meeting, your 

representative stated that any business would be foolish to reveal 

its plans to a community in advance. I agree with the statement made 

by your representative, however, I disagree that St. John's 

University is a business. Members of the community regard St. John's 

as faith-based university whose mission is defined on your web site 

as follows, "For more than 130 years, St. John's University has 

fostered a strong sense of commitment toward its neighbors." Has St. 

John's changed its mission? 

Fr. Harrington, I implore you to review the published mission 

statement, guidelines, goals and objectives of St. John's University. 

Please conform to your statements that there will be meaningful 

dialogue with the community and respond to the concerns of our 

community. 

Please reconsider your position; listen to your neighbors; become a 

good neighbor; cancel the existing dormitory proposal and enter a 

meaningful dialogue with our community. 

Sincerely,

Frank Padavan, State Senator 

FP:dk 

c: 

Constituents/ 

Community Roard 8 

Jamaica Estates Civic Association Michael Bookbinder 

Dr. E. Toriello 

Matha Taylor 

Arthur Flug 

Kevin Forrestal 

Assemblyman Mark Weprin 

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