I understand that LIJ North Shore is repurposing and retrofitting the building to turn it into a 24 hour emergency room to open at some point in 2015. It won't be an inpatient facility so the idea will be to transfer more serious cases to other hospitals after their emergency care. But the recent history is very interesting and I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the long-term prospects... [more]
I understand that LIJ North Shore is repurposing and retrofitting the building to turn it into a 24 hour emergency room to open at some point in 2015. It won't be an inpatient facility so the idea will be to transfer more serious cases to other hospitals after their emergency care. But the recent history is very interesting and I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the long-term prospects for this iconic building and, by extension, to this section of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Specifically, just before St. Vincent's declared bankruptcy, they were looking for a way to survive, which included selling much of their real estate (which they did - and is now being developed as luxury condos) and petitioning the Landmark Preservation Commission for a "hardship" exception which allows a "charitable" institution to get a zoning variance to demolish a low-rise structure such as the O'Toole building and "build big." That's what happened. St. Vincent's was granted this very contentious exception to demolish the O'Toole building to build a high-rise hospital on the site. Many local residents were furious that such a structure would change the character of the neighborhood. When St. Vincent's went bankrupt, all of this changed. Hence, the current LIJ North Shore emergency room project. So I'm wondering about two things: First, let's say that this emergency room doesn't work out so well. Can LIJ North Shore obtain a similar "hardship" exception and build a high-rise hospital, just as St. Vincent's was planning on doing? After all, with St. Vincent's gone, there's health care void in much of downtown. And, second, does anyone know if there is anything in the works to find another location for building a brand new hospital in an area that's not such a "low rise" area like the West Village? Many thanks for your thoughts.
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Response by NativeRestless
about 13 years ago
Posts: 236
Member since: Jul 2011
Jupiter's Ghost (and I put that in there as a stand in for MUCH stronger expletives) is there no NIMBY like a West Village NIMBY? There have been higher rise (if not 50+ story) buildings there forever...the Bing & Bing buildings at 2 Horatio and 299 West 12th for example. And what about all the mid-century apartment buildings like the John Adams, the Cezanne and the Van Gogh. Those have to be 15-20 stories. These are the same people who were "too good" to patronize St Vincents, bitched (for good reason) when it closed and now want to further limit there health care options. (Would they complain as loud if Columbia Presbyterian, NY-Cornell or another "prestige" hospital wanted to build there? ) Ironically, St Vincent's was conceived as a hospital for poor/working class people and since there are next to none of those left in the West Village, maybe it was time to close. I don't wish ill on anyone but if one of these NIMBYs had a scare and got stuck in traffic on the way to Beth Israel or Roosevelt I would have a chuckle as long as they were okay.
Jupiter's Ghost (and I put that in there as a stand in for MUCH stronger expletives) is there no NIMBY like a West Village NIMBY? There have been higher rise (if not 50+ story) buildings there forever...the Bing & Bing buildings at 2 Horatio and 299 West 12th for example. And what about all the mid-century apartment buildings like the John Adams, the Cezanne and the Van Gogh. Those have to be 15-20 stories. These are the same people who were "too good" to patronize St Vincents, bitched (for good reason) when it closed and now want to further limit there health care options. (Would they complain as loud if Columbia Presbyterian, NY-Cornell or another "prestige" hospital wanted to build there? ) Ironically, St Vincent's was conceived as a hospital for poor/working class people and since there are next to none of those left in the West Village, maybe it was time to close. I don't wish ill on anyone but if one of these NIMBYs had a scare and got stuck in traffic on the way to Beth Israel or Roosevelt I would have a chuckle as long as they were okay.