LICH is Open for Care

A Brooklyn judge prevented the closure of Long Island College Hospital, because officials from the State University of New York plotted in private to close the facility, according to court documents made public last Thursday, according to DNAinfo.

VIDEOS : Tornados Hit Queens and Brooklyn in NYC

Videos made by average citizens and posted onto YouTube show the dangerous storm clouds and show one tornado that caused damage on the ground in Queens, New York.

WABC : Tornadoes confirmed in Brooklyn and Queens

2 tornadoes strike in NYC; no injuries reported (Houston Chronicle)

George MARTINEZ for Congress

Watch a spontaneous DIY (do it yourself) YouTube interview with George MARTINEZ, who is running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District in Brooklyn. Mr. Martinez talks about how he believes he will take the corruptive influence of corporate money out of politics.

Found Blizzard Pictures Trilogy

Found: Lost Pictures of New York Blizzard

Following the post-Christmas Blizzard of 2010, Todd Bieber found a canister of 35 mm film in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. In January, he made a YouTube video, to try to locate the owners of the film. What happens next is life imitating art à ''Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.''

Watch the beautify story unfold in the YouTube trilogy, as Mr. Bieber takes us on an inspiring adventure to reünite the film with its owners.

Found: Part 1

Found: Part 2

Found: Part 3

Read The Village Voice article : Lost NYC Photo Adventure Finds Happy Ending in Paris.

Brooklyn Hospital Closings

UPDATED : About ten months after Gov. Andrew Cuomo floated the idea of hospital closings to cut the New York State Medicaid budget, now comes an article in The New York Times that paints Gov. Cuomo as a saviour of Brooklyn hospitals : Seeking a Cure for Troubled Hospitals in Brooklyn

Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn has been saved from closing ; it is expected to merge with SUNY Downstate Hospital.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has found enough state grant money to save Long Island College Hospital, NY1 reported. Because of the deal, 2,500 employees, who work at the Brooklyn hospital, will be able to keep their jobs.

In the time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the New York City Council, at least eight city hospitals have closed :

• North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy in 2010 ;
• St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village was shut down in 2010 after shady backroom meetings ;
• St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst went bankrupt in 2009 ;
• Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica went bankrupt in 2009 ;
• Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills decided to close in 2008 ;
• Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan closed in 2008 ;
• Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge closed in 2008 ; and
• St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan closed in 2007.

Last October, New York magazine published an exposé written by Mark Levine, which described the dangerous public health issues resulting from all the hospital closings.

"Last year, a pair of hospitals in Queens closed suddenly, just before the outbreak of H1N1, causing overflow conditions in the emergency rooms of nearby facilities, one of which set up a triage area on a loading dock."

In January, The New York Post has made a list more Brooklyn hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

• Brooklyn Center
• Brookdale
• Interfaith
• Kingsbrook
• Wyckoff

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals. (Note that the link to The Post article sometimes does not work. Hmmmm. Try this link for some corroborating information about the hospital closings that would come about as a result of Gov. Cuomo's Medicaid cuts.)