PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dr. Akshay Ganju, Primary Care Physician, on MSK Pavilion Project
2:21:48
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129 sec
Dr. Akshay Ganju, a primary care physician living near the proposed MSK Pavilion site, expresses mixed feelings about the project. While acknowledging MSK's life-saving work, he raises concerns about the building's height and its impact on the local community, particularly PS 183 elementary school.
- Dr. Ganju suggests that MSK's expansion is partly motivated by business interests and attracting more patients globally.
- He proposes that MSK should make significant investments in PS 183 to mitigate construction impacts, including hiring an independent consultant for the school.
- Dr. Ganju recommends MSK contribute to school improvements beyond basic mitigation measures, such as building a playground.
Dr. Akshay Ganju
2:21:48
Oh, awesome.
2:21:48
Hi.
2:21:49
My name is Doctor Akshay Ganju.
2:21:51
I'm a primary care physician.
2:21:52
I live at 1320 York Avenue, which a Cornell building.
2:21:55
It's the Helmsley Tower.
2:21:57
I have a two year old boy who meets off the sidewalk and a five year old girl who just started kindergarten at PS 183 and will live her entire elementary school education for the next 6 years.
2:22:08
In a construction zone.
2:22:10
I love MSK.
2:22:11
Doctor.
2:22:12
Ruben actually saved the life of one of my patients with pancreatic cancer literally 6 weeks ago.
2:22:18
And, you know, but obviously, I have concerns about the height of this building.
2:22:22
The the NYPD buildings, Hamsley, which is huge, if you look at the at the street, is 37 stories high.
2:22:30
This building is 31 stories, and it's gonna be more than one and a half times taller than that.
2:22:35
Let alone pronounce me in hospital.
2:22:37
Let's be serious.
2:22:37
There's no way you guys are gonna, like, take the concerns of some parents over the concerns of Sloan Kettering.
2:22:43
But let's also be serious.
2:22:44
Sloan Kettering is amazing, and he has a lot of lives.
2:22:49
It's also trying to make money.
2:22:51
They're building a surgical center to attract patients not just from the city, but from around the country, around the world so they can get more great funding.
2:22:59
They can get more payments for surgeries that are highly refunded and build more skyscrapers.
2:23:05
I mean, it's a business too.
2:23:06
It's a great business, but they wanna expand.
2:23:09
They wanna grow a share of a cancer market, and they wanna have the tallest hospital in the world.
2:23:13
And so if they're gonna invest $2,000,000,000,000, build a building that will make them a return on more than $2,000,000,000.
2:23:18
They should be willing to invest in 183.
2:23:21
And I think that's more than just have some, like, noise cancelling headphones for the kids and an air traffic monitor.
2:23:29
It's like invest some significant money.
2:23:31
I would say upfront, at a bare minimum, they should pay for a consultant for the school because we don't know what we're asking for, what we're doing, or have gone through this before.
2:23:40
Loan kettering should hire a consultant, an independent consultant that can help guide the parents of 1883 through this situation, figure out what we need.
2:23:49
And beyond mitigating the issues with the school, can it invest in the school, can it build a playground, can it take