Left to right, Rick O’Connor, Odyssey House Board Chair, Robert Rodriguez, DASNY President, OASAS Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, Dr. Kate Rothko Prizel, and Odyssey House President Dr. Peter Provet
On June 4, Odyssey House formally opened the Kate Rothko Center for Recovery, a $32 million, 60-bed residential treatment facility on Wards Island — though for the sixty men already living there since January, the work had long since begun.
The center provides adult men with opioid use disorder access to Medication for Addiction Treatment, withdrawal and stabilization services, individual counseling, group therapy, and individualized medical and psycho-social support in a single, purpose-built setting. Funded by OASAS and developed in partnership with DASNY, the three-story, 22,500-square-foot building was designed by Posen Architects and constructed by J. Pilla Group using modular methods — 71 factory-built modules delivered to a constrained island site and assembled in 16 days.
Christopher Rothko and Kate Rothko Prizel at the opening celebration.
The center is named for Kate Rothko Prizel, MD, Chair of the Odyssey Foundation and daughter of artist Mark Rothko. At the ceremony, she spoke plainly about what the naming means to her: “It would mean showing up. Staying engaged. Bringing whatever I have to offer to this work for as long as I am able. That is a commitment I make gladly.”
“The Kate Rothko Center for Recovery is a place where decades of learning and listening have shaped a new standard of care,” said President and CEO Peter Provet, Ph.D. “We are giving residents the full continuum of care they need to rebuild their lives.”