Queens Hospital Closings

Last-minute deal saves Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. But with more hospitals at risk of closing in Queens, public healthcare will only get worse.

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 of more Queens hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

• Jamaica
• Peninsula

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals.

Manhattan Hospital Closings

The Ever-Decreasing Number of Full-Service Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and Trauma Centers in All Five New York City Boroughs.

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 of more hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

Brooklyn:

• Brooklyn Center
• Brookdale
• Interfaith
• Kingsbrook
• Wyckoff

Queens:

• Jamaica
• Peninsula

Bronx:

• Westchester Square
• St. Barnabas

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals.

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.)

Bronx Hospital Closings

Two Bronx hospitals are at risk of shutting down. Based on the spree other hospital closings, things don't look promising for public healthcare in the Bronx.

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 of Bronx hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

• Westchester Square
• St. Barnabas

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals.

Staten Island Hospital Closings

Last-minute deal saves Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. Can Staten Island continue to escape the spree of hospital closing ?

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 of Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

Brooklyn:

• Brooklyn Center
• Brookdale
• Interfaith
• Kingsbrook
• Wyckoff

Queens:

• Jamaica
• Peninsula

Bronx:

• Westchester Square
• St. Barnabas

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals.

Bloomberg Calls the Irish, "Inebriated"

Irish Eyes Not Smiling Over Mayor Bloomberg's Inebriated Insensitivity

Mayor Bloomberg described Irish New Yorkers as being ''inebriated,'' and he added that he was accustomed to seeing drunken Irish ''hanging out the windows'' of the American Irish Historical Society in their drunken state.

The mayor's insult came during a speech he gave at the American Irish Historical Society, and his disparaging remarks triggered boos from the audience.

In an article about the insult, The New York Times quoted John Dunleavy, the chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, said the mayor’s words were “outrageous and totally uncalled for.”

Democracy in Italy

#OpItaly : February 13 Countdown To Democratic Process that Can Only End With Berlusconi Resignation ; Will #OpCityHall Or #OpCityCouncil Be Next ?

News is spreading on the Internet that the combined impact of WikiLeaks documents and Anonymous will soon bring reform to the Italian government.

Although Prime Minister Silvio has weathered many corruption scandals, he has not been held accountable, ''because of his remarkable control of Italian television and the press.'' But the international mood is changing.

''Outsiders may find it easy to group all Italians as Berlusconi sympathizers or as passively resigned to their predicament. But there are many Italians who are fighting against him and the effect he has had on Italy,'' wrote Clare Watters in an opinion-editorial featured in The New York Times.

While we always hear international chatter about undemocratic leaders, as with the recent democratic revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, we can safely bet that change will next come to Italy.

Look no further than here : Operation Italy Part 2 PRESS RELEASE English.

St. Vincent's Activist Get Out of Jail ; Give Press Conference

Why Are They Closing St. Vincent's Hospital ?

Four community activists were released from jail on Wednesday, following their arrest on Tuesday for having staged a sit-in at the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital, reported the Hedz-Up Report. Ms. Katz and the other activists were each charged with criminal trespass, but all they were trying to do was to bring a new hospital to the Lower West Side of Manhattan. Following is video of the a part of the press conference, where Evette Stark-Katz, one of the activists who was arrested, made a public statement.

Why Are They Closing St. Vincent's Hospital? (Pt. 18) - Arrest & Release (Clip 1) from g. sosa on Vimeo.

Mike Bloomberg John Haggerty hold the bull!

Four Activists Were Arrested at Sit-In at St. Vincent's Hospital

This morning, NYPD arrested four activists, who protested the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital. Politicians, on whose watch the hospital closed, remain at-large.

Watch a YouTube video of the protesters, as they were taken into police custody. While they were being put into the back of the police van, the activists shouted : "Land-lock St. Vincents ; Trauma 1 now !"

A group called Hands Off St. Vincent's held a sit-in Tuesday morning at the shuttered medical center. At approximately 10:30 a.m., four activists were arrested. It is not known how many other activists took part at the demonstration.

Among the protesters, who were arrested, were LGBT civil rights activists Iana Di Bona and Alan Bounville. Following is the statement from a press release, which was distributed to the media, by one of the group's members :

New York, NY – On February 8, at 10:30 am, four former patients and impassioned community members entered the building at the location of the closed down Saint Vincent's Hospital. These activists then sat on the ground, unfurling a banner that read, "Guilty : Neglect !" and began to chant - refusing to move. Saint Vincent's personnel closed off that section of the building - currently operating as a Credit Union - and refused entry to members of the credit union as well as persons employed within the building. Two hours after their arrival, the four activists were arrested and taken away by the police.

For 284 days, 1.3 million New Yorkers have been without a hospital in the West Village. Since St. Vincent’s illegal closure on April 30, 2010, the community has been laden with false promises, patronized with a bogus needs assessment and forced, with tragic consequences, to seek emergency or medical care at already overcrowded uptown or East-side hospitals.

“Everyday that passes is critical,” said Iana Di Bona, one of the arrested activists, “Our elected officials have the ability to turn things around, yet they do nothing. It is so important to speak out and to continue to pressure and hold them accountable to service the needs of our community.”

Commitment for a New Village Hospital by the people of the West Village and all of New York City has not wavered. Any politician not actively working to get a new hospital is a target. That is a promise the St. Vincent’s Hospital Community Activists intend to keep.

Before the sit-in took place, it appears that the activists held a "peoples trial" of politicians, on whose watch St. Vincent's closed. According to the description of the YouTube video, an unidentified Hands Off member made the following statement : "We hold the elected officials responsible for betraying their very own constituency."

On her blog, the artist and political commentator Suzannah B. Troy broke the news of the activists getting arrested at St. Vincent's. Ms. Troy made the observation that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn recently pushed through a new smoking ban in public parks as a sign of their concern for public health, but Ms. Troy questions their commitment if politicians have made no commitment to save city hospitals from closing.

Christine Quinn, Ms. Slush and Intimidation wants to be Mayor! by Suzannah B. Troy

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/quinn_cash_U8m3A7r3ur4ZUF5FrZfpsK

Christine Quinn, Ms.Slush and Intimidation, aka as Mike Bloomberg's mini-me will never be mayor. I am waiting for an App, a NY Post ticker of how much corrupt politicians lawyers are costing tax payers. Here legal team must be working over-thttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEaki2DQ0_wime. I hope she gets a subpoena so she has to explain under oath how she brushed aside 2 investigations in to CityTime and if she used intimidation to prevent a 3rd? Quinn also pushed the great lie we needed Mike for a third term to help the economy. Look at the list of her campaign donors -- that is who she helped. She is all talk but her actions speak louder and she belongs in jail. The slush $ investigations are moving slower than a turtle in molasses.

p.s. Page 6 keeps doing phony p.r.. for Quinn just like the do for guess who's love life which is a big farce...gee wonder what that is all about?

Bloombo Dicto Hosni Bloomberg

Maybe after #OpEgypt and #OpItaly, we'll have #OpCityHall or #OpCityCouncil ?

After Mayor Michael Bloomberg insulted parents who heckled Chancellor Cathleen Black, Michael Mulgrew, president of the teachers union, compared Mayor with Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, reported The New York Post.

Ms. Black's ''Awwwwwww'' moment came when she mocked parents, who were going to desperate measures to save several schools from closing, and her insensitive mocking and juvenile immaturity has inflamed the anger of parents and has shocked the conscious of even some school officials. In response to the despair of parents, Mayor Bloomberg has predictably unleashed a ridiculous backlash against Ms. Black's critics.

Mayor Bloomberg, who subverted a public referendum to run for a third term as mayor, went on to say that angry parents were acting unpatriotic. "This is not democracy -- letting people yell and scream. That's not freedom of expression," Mayor Bloomberg said. "That's just trying to take away somebody else's rights. And if we want to attract good people to come and work for the public, you don't do this."

Under his tight fist of ''mayoral control'' over the school system, Mayor Bloomberg wields totalitarian control over the Panel for Educational Policy, which votes to close schools ; the Panel operates under the appearance of independence, but in reality the Panel is ''entirely undemocratic'' and takes its ''marching orders only from Bloomberg,'' according to the Post Mr. Mulgrew noted that if the Panel doesn't vote the way that the Mayor wants, he retaliates against them. ''The last time they voted against him, he fired them,'' Mr. Mulgrew said.

Even The New York Times Agrees : the ''Fix'' Was In.

Meanwhile, at a meeting on Thursday night, where more schools were voted to be closed, City Councilmember Charles Barron said, “You will let us scream until we get hoarse, and then we know what will happen — you’ll shut all our schools down.”

''The closing of struggling schools has been a key piece of Mr. Bloomberg’s agenda, and his eight-person majority has stood behind him, phasing out more than 100 schools, often replacing them with small schools and charter schools,'' reported The Times.

Update on Christine Quinn

While Mayor Bloomberg spent the week closing schools, firing teachers, and getting rid of classrooms and school lunches, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was using NYPD as enforcers against activists outside a fundraiser for her presumed candidacy for Mayor in 2013.

Christine Quinn Avoids Public Audit of St. Vincent's Hospital Closing

The City Council Sneaker Investigates the Very Idea That Wal-Mart Will Open a Store in New York City, but She Won't Investigate Why St. Vincent's Hospital Closed ?

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called Wal-Mart a ''union-busting, tax-evading, wage-correcting, job-destroying, civil-rights-abusing, food-stamps-denying multinational corporation.'' But Speaker Quinn won't investigate the shady and rapid closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

If Comptroller John Liu were to launch an investigation into St. Vincent's Hospital, he could count on the support of a few hundred thousand New Yorkers, who live in the former St. Vincent's catchment area, who have been left with no hospital in the Lower West Side of Manhattan. That area also happens to coïncide with what would be considered Speaker Quinn's strongest base of support, if she were to run for mayor of New York in 2013.

At Quinn Protest, A Use of City Resources for Campaign Activities ?

Is Speaker Quinn using city resources, and police,
for campaign activities ?

At a political fundraiser on the evening of Feb. 2, 2011, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn deployed a large team of police officers. Three peaceful protesters, myself included, gathered to hold up a banner, asking for a new hospital for the Lower West Side of Manhattan, to replace St. Vincent's. Police told us to move, and one officer pushed me to get me to move, even though we were on a public sidewalk and not blocking traffic. Plus, there were no barricades, to indicate that there was a restricted zone. Is Speaker Quinn using city resources, and police, for campaign activities ? Who is instructing NYPD to intimidate protesters ?

David Kato : Vigil and March in NYC to Demand Hate Crimes Investigation

NYC vigil and march in memory of David Kato on Thursday, February 3

Last Wednesday, Ugandan gay activist David Kato was beaten to death in a brutal hate crime. Even after David was deliberately marked as a target in a newspaper’s controversial campaign that called for gays to be executed, police in Uganda are refusing to investigate David’s suspicious murder as an act of homophobia.

Here in New York, the LGBT community and our allies are outraged at the continuation of human rights violations against David, even after his death, and against LGBT people everywhere.  We invite all New Yorkers to participate in a vigil and march on Thursday, February 3.

For more information about the vigil and march, please visit the Facebook page. The vigil will begin at 4 pm at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (885 Second Avenue), and, from there, mourners will begin a march that will pass in front of the United Nations Headquarters and end at the Uganda Mission to the United Nations (336 East 45th Street).

Date : Thursday, February 3, 2011
Start Time : 4 p.m.
Meeting Place : 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (885 Second Avenue), New York City
Please Bring : Signs and Banners to remember David Kato

David’s life work was to courageously fight for the human rights of LGBT people in Uganda. In the time leading up to his murder, David had been working to defeat the widely controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda.  Under the proposed bill, some LGBT people would become subject to the death penalty.  In David’s name, we demand that the Ugandan government abandon this bill.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced in the Ugandan Parliament by David Bahati, who is associated with ‘’The Family,’’ a fringe group of right-wing politicians and businessmen, who inject their fundamentalist beliefs into government matters, including civil rights and reproductive freedoms. Mr. Bahati reportedly first proposed the idea of executing gays during The Family's Uganda National Prayer Breakfast in 2008.

We stand up to the bigotry of and interference by groups, like The Family. We also join others in calling for the Ugandan government to recognize LGBT equality as a universal human right, to fully investigate all hate crimes, and to take action against institutions, which create campaigns that are only meant to incite discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

The campaign against LGBT Ugandans was being lead by other social and cultural institutions, including the media. It is unacceptable that a newspaper would publish a list of LGBT people and mark them as targets for death. As we hold our vigil and march near the United Nations, we also ask the U.N. to continue to put pressure on the Ugandan government to thoroughly investigate David’s killing, as well as to investigate and prosecute any institution, which is responsible for advocating for the execution, discrimination, or harassment of LGBT people.

We ask everyone to join us in this vigil to demand that all cultural- and government-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBT persons come to an end.