Q&A
Montefiore Medical Center's vision and infrastructure needs
3:10:34
·
3 min
Council Member Riley inquires about Montefiore Medical Center's plans for growth and how the rezoning would facilitate this growth. Ruben Diaz Junior, representing Montefiore, outlines the institution's vision and potential benefits of the Metro North station.
• Montefiore envisions creating a high-acuity surgery tower and expanding their cancer center. • The Metro North station would help attract patients, doctors, and students from a wider region. • There are currently no specific commitments from the city for infrastructure upgrades, but Montefiore would welcome support for overall area infrastructure improvements.
Kevin C. Riley
3:10:34
K.
3:10:35
Thank you.
3:10:38
Now moving over to Monte Ferry.
3:10:40
Morse Park has been advertised throughout this process.
3:10:43
As a growing life science hub, and you talked about the steam sets.
3:10:47
So that's coming really excited about that.
3:10:49
Mhmm.
3:10:49
Can you speak to how this reason it would help Monterrey if facilitate this growth?
3:10:53
And can you speak of how any concrete plans your team has for the future of Monte Ferry in the Greater Morris Park neighborhood?
Ruben Diaz Junior
3:11:01
Let me try the latter before the former.
3:11:03
Unlike what you've heard from the other presenters here today and previously, We do not have a concrete actual plan, but we do have a vision.
3:11:14
Doctor Oswald has a vision.
3:11:16
The vision number 1 is to create a high acuity surgery tower, high acuity meaning that when we want people with concentrated surgery like I'm sorry.
3:11:30
Specialty surgery, organ transplant.
3:11:33
Brain surgery, so on and so forth.
3:11:36
We also have a vision.
3:11:38
He has a vision to to increase under this plan.
3:11:42
Because the high acuity tower is a different application that we would submit after this application, a smaller 1.
3:11:49
But under this footprint, we would love to expand and create a 1 stop shop with our cancer center.
3:11:56
The way that this whole the the metro metro metro station would help out is in a number of ways, it would create an opportunity for us to invite patients from beyond the Bronx.
3:12:09
From beyond, you know, the the media area, we could expand the region from Connecticut, from Westchester, from Manhattan.
3:12:17
Not only patients, we could also have doctors, physicians, come to us and and work in our facilities.
3:12:25
And then if if you heard my testimony, we had a huge announcement not so long ago.
3:12:31
1 of our board members, doctor God, Ruth Godisman donated a $1, 000, 000, 000 so that the students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine will have free tuition and perpetuity.
3:12:45
That means that we will be inviting people from all over the nation, students, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
3:12:53
With that, their families will come and visit.
3:12:55
So this would create this what what this would do is it would provide for us the ability to expand and to expand the pool of patients, physicians, scientists, and students.
3:13:09
That would come.
3:13:10
We would really, really can become the national paradigm for wellness for life sciences and for health care.
3:13:19
We could be the the the the Silicon Valley to to health care.
3:13:25
For this region.
Kevin C. Riley
3:13:28
Thank you.
3:13:29
In addition to that, with this Metro North station, has the city made any commitments to Monterrey's infrastructure issues or any capital upgrades to Montessori?
Ruben Diaz Junior
3:13:41
Not at this moment.
3:13:42
At this moment, we're just hoping that as part of passing this this application.
3:13:48
We can deal with a minor inconsistency that I mentioned earlier.
3:13:51
And of course, we're working with the city so that moving forward, as we put in an application for a smaller portion of the footprint, so that we can build a high acuity tower.
3:14:02
But we would welcome the city and the state and the federal government to help in with us as well as the overall infrastructure of the area,
Kevin C. Riley
3:14:11
which is very important because there are machines at the facility that could use upgrades and We really wanna make sure we're providing the best facility for our residents.
3:14:20
So thank you so
Ruben Diaz Junior
3:14:21
much.
3:14:21
Absolutely.
