Q&A
Council Member Kevin C. Riley questions MSK representatives about proposed hospital expansion
1:01:41
·
4 min
Council Member Kevin C. Riley engages in a Q&A session with representatives from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) regarding their proposed hospital expansion project. The discussion covers various aspects of MSK's operations, patient demographics, and community impact of the new development.
- Questions address MSK's current capacity, patient age range, and plans for staff housing
- Concerns about air quality impacts on a nearby elementary school are discussed
- MSK representatives outline their community engagement efforts and plans for addressing environmental issues
Kevin C. Riley
1:01:41
Thank you.
1:01:43
I have a few questions, then we're gonna pass to the council amendment and council member councilman.
1:01:50
What percentage of people do you serve in New York City and in Manhattan now?
Jeffrey Drebin
1:01:58
In terms of the cancer, yes, market, we're somewhere around 14%.
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:03
14%.
Jeffrey Drebin
1:02:04
14.
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:08
How many beds do you have now?
Jeffrey Drebin
1:02:10
We have 513.
1:02:14
514.
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:16
Do you know the age of your youngest patient?
Jeffrey Drebin
1:02:19
It's in a it's in a very few months.
1:02:22
We we have a pediatric ward and take care of a lot of children,
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:26
your oldest patient.
Jeffrey Drebin
1:02:29
I operated on a lady who was 94 in the last 6 months.
1:02:33
I suspect there are some older patients.
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:37
She's doing
Jeffrey Drebin
1:02:37
well, I should point it.
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:39
Thank you.
1:02:40
How long have the buildings used for housing staff been vacant?
Jeffrey Drebin
1:02:48
The the the site for the presumed correct proposed provision?
Roger McClean
1:02:52
Yes.
1:02:52
So we well
UNKNOWN
1:02:55
yeah.
1:02:55
Yeah.
Roger McClean
1:02:56
Everybody care
Kevin C. Riley
1:02:58
about it.
Roger McClean
1:02:58
Everybody care about it.
1:02:59
You're vacated that building in June.
1:03:00
This year.
Kevin C. Riley
1:03:04
This expansion will lead to an increase in staff at MSK.
1:03:07
What plan does MSK have in place to assist staff with housing if this project is approved?
Jeffrey Drebin
1:03:16
We have we have additional housing.
1:03:18
We have over a thousand units on the upper east side.
1:03:21
We're purchasing additional housing on Roosevelt Island,
Max Zarin
1:03:24
and
Jeffrey Drebin
1:03:25
we don't anticipate that this would create a a major impact on our Roger doing.
Kevin C. Riley
1:03:32
I understand that there's elementary school in the same block as the proposed development, and the parents have expressed concerns about the air quality and other impacts.
1:03:41
Have you reached out to other adjacent property owners to get their feedback and concerns as well?
Jeffrey Drebin
1:03:46
We we've certainly heard from many adjacent property owners.
1:03:49
We held a series of calls with Community Board 8 going back now 18 months.
1:03:55
Zoom calls in person meetings.
1:03:57
And I think we've heard from a lot of people, particularly those who live on 66th Street who are most likely to be impacted by the adjacency.
1:04:05
We're, you know, we're a cancer center.
1:04:07
We're all about avoiding exposures to environmental toxins, and we're committed to seeing that that air quality and things are not negatively impacted.
Kevin C. Riley
1:04:18
Go ahead, man.
Roger McClean
1:04:20
Hello, chairman.
1:04:21
We've also implemented a community working group as well.
1:04:25
So monthly, we're gonna have working sessions with the community to really get their feedback, give some updates, and look ahead on where we are at the project.
1:04:34
We really wanna be fully transparent with where we are, and also to hear their concerns.
Jeffrey Drebin
1:04:39
I I think the other we we also have a a anticipated sort of a hotline that'll be available to community members if something is perceived as a they don't have to wait till the end of the month to tell us something that
Kevin C. Riley
1:04:49
goes directly to you guys and you'll be able to answer.
1:04:52
Okay.
1:04:53
Will there be a liaison between MSK and the community with this hotline?
1:04:57
And
Roger McClean
1:04:57
Yes.
1:04:58
Within our within our communications group, there is an individual who is specifically identified as to work closely with the community through Erin McDonough's team who's here.
Kevin C. Riley
1:05:08
Okay.
1:05:09
And the last question, Mister Freeman, you you spoke about an environmental issue with the church.
1:05:16
You said that you will not be able to address that issue until the building is built.
1:05:21
And that's regarding the shadows, I believe that's
Shelly Friedman
1:05:25
We have projections, computer models, and the like, but nothing is going to supplant the actual shadows that will occur as the building is going up and they start to occur in real time.
1:05:36
That's the point where we've been discussing with the church, engaging with them in a in an effort to to address those.
1:05:42
There are there are external light sources and the light.
1:05:45
There are many tools in the toolbox for that, but we have discussed with the church that we we will be there once those shadows start to appear so that we can make sure they're adjusted.
1:05:56
At this point, we'd only be guessing on the basis of rough computer models about where those shadows are going to occur and when they generally occur daily during certain seasons for about an hour a day.
1:06:11
But under the environmental rules, that's sufficient to trigger an impact that we need to address.
Kevin C. Riley
1:06:18
Thank you.
1:06:19
Council amendment.