Brendan House grand opening scheduled for May 21
Brendan House, a group home for survivors of traumatic bran injuries, will celebrate its grand opening in Riverhead on May 21, the culmination of a project that dates back more than five years.
Allyson Scerri, the founder of New Beginnings, announced the grand opening on Friday afternoon and said additional details would be announced soon. She said she’s expecting hundreds of people to attend the 1 p.m. grand opening.
Ms. Scerri founded the nonprofit New Beginnings after her father suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2007. The long-term care facility at 4079 Sound Ave. known as Brendan House has been under construction since 2012 and the opening has been consistently delayed. The target opening date was originally set for the summer of 2013. In April 2015, Ms. Scerri had said $10,000 was needed to finish the project.
The two-story home totals more than 4,000 square feet and is capable of housing 12 people and providing them with round-the-clock care. Ms. Scerri said the home will house four people at first when it opens and plans are in place for four more moving in, then two more after that.
The house was built in the early 1900s.
Brendan House was named after Blue Point resident Brendan Aykroyd, who at 25 died after suffering a brain injury in a 2009 assault.
Photo caption: General contractor Roy Schweers and New Beginnings founder Allyson Scerri outside the old farmhouse on Sound Avenue in 2014. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)
