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Fight to save Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan
New Yorkers gathered in Gramercy Park Thursday to push back on the upcoming closure of the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Lower Manhattan. FOX 5 NY's Chris Welch looks at why people who live there say losing the hospital would be dangerous for their neighborhood.
NEW YORK - One of the last hospitals still serving Lower Manhattan, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, is on track for closure next July.
On Thursday, politicians and community advocates gathered to save it.
"It is unacceptable and we are here to demand more," said the neighborhood’s city council member Carlina Rivera, who organized the rally.
When Beth Israel closes, New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan will be the only facility serving the borough south of 23rd Street, an area of 400,000 residents.
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"We are in danger of being left with one small full-service hospital for the equivalent of a mid-size American city," said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
Those behind the push to save Beth Israel say the lessons of the pandemic are being ignored.
"We could have a major epidemic, and they're cutting and slashing hospital beds all over the city," said Paul Stein, who was born at the hospital in 1948.
But Beth Israel argues they don't have a choice, saying that the decision was made after a billion dollars in losses and years of analysis to find a way forward. They say since the decision was made, finances and staffing issues have only deteriorated.
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In a statement, a hospital spokesperson added, "Unfortunately, the economics of modern healthcare are simply too much to overcome, and we must close the hospital or potentially put the entire system at risk."
Rivera wants state intervention.
"We’re really looking for a safety net designation which would enable funding from the state," Rivera said. "We would love help from our governor, Kathy Hochul, for intervention to ensure that this building stays open."
Fox 5 reached out to the governor’s office but did not hear back.