PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Stephanie Hammond Reckler, Member of the Public, on Hospital Expansion in New York City
2:55:43
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130 sec
Stephanie Hammond Reckler testifies against the proposed expansion of Lenox Hill Hospital, arguing that it's inappropriate to add more hospital capacity to an already well-served neighborhood while other areas lack adequate healthcare facilities. She urges the City Council to prioritize hospital expansions in underserved areas.
- Reckler highlights that the Lenox Hill neighborhood already has 6 major hospitals and more than 10 hospital beds per 1000 residents, four times the citywide rate.
- She contrasts this with areas like the Lower East Side, which lacks sufficient hospital beds and may lose Beth Israel Hospital Medical Center.
- Reckler calls on the City Council to use tools like the land use review process to guide hospital expansions to areas of greatest need.
Stephanie Reckler
2:55:43
Yes.
2:55:44
Thank you, chairs, nurses, and showmen for the opportunity to present some comments today.
2:55:50
I am Stephanie Hammond Recler, I am here today with a simple message.
2:55:55
We must stop closing hospitals in medically underserved neighborhoods while expanding hospitals in more affluent neighborhoods that already have more than enough hospital capacity.
2:56:09
I have lived in the Lenox Hill Neighborhood of the upper inside all my life.
2:56:14
We are fortunate to have 6 major hospitals close by.
2:56:19
As you have heard the testimony at the press conference from Lois Uppley, we have more than 10 hospital beds for every 1000 residents.
2:56:29
That is more than four times the city wide rate.
2:56:33
Yet it is in our neighborhood that Northwell health system is proposing a $1,600,000,000 expansion plan for Lenox Hill Hospital.
2:56:43
There are many personal reasons why I and I neighbors do not want this Lenox Hill expansion, but a more fundamental reason we oppose the Lenox Hill Hospital expansion is this.
2:56:57
It is simply wrong to add even more hospital capacity in a neighborhood that is already ex extremely well served, while people in other parts of the city do not have enough hospital beds to meet their needs.
2:57:13
Lower east side, for example, does not have enough hospital beds as it is now.
2:57:20
But the and the residents are in serious danger of losing Beth Israel Hospital Medical Center.
2:57:27
I urge the New York City Council to use every tool you have including the city's land use review process, to prioritize hospital expansions in the neighborhoods that need most them and discourage huge hospital expansions in already well served neighborhoods like Lenox Hill, and I appreciate the privilege to present to you today.
Lynn Schulman
2:57:53
Thank you very much, Axia Torres.
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Testimony by Amelia Wagner, Senior Health Policy Analyst at Community Service Society of New York, on Hospital Closures and Health Disparities
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Testimony by Aixa Torres, Chairperson for Manhattan South District Council of Presidents of NYCHA, on the Closure of Beth Israel Hospital
