Tuesday, January 28, 2014

CHA Statement Regarding SUNY's Latest Action

News broke today that The State University of New York (SUNY) will allow respondents to its RFP process for LICH to modify their proposals. The Cobble Hill Association first heard this news from reporters. Below is the Cobble Hill Association's response to this news.

Without consultation or notice, SUNY today issued a press release announcing that the respondents to its rigged RFP process will be given the opportunity to modify their proposals. Make no mistake about it: SUNY has acted unilaterally with no forewarning, let alone consultation, to community stakeholders. They have made this announcement on a night when the nation's and the city's attention will be devoted to President Obama's State of the Union address.

SUNY has not reopened its RFP process: it has simply given its favored parties an opportunity to make their condo proposals look less repugnant. We affirm the words of our counsel Jim Walden of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher: "By acting unilaterally, SUNY assures only one thing: the Community will fight until hell freezes over, and then we will fight it out on the ice."

SUNY is still explicitly steering the RFP respondents away from hospitals and towards outcomes that are not hospitals. Witness the parameters suggested by SUNY today in its letter to the RFP respondents:
"some form of comprehensive health care at the LICH campus, including perhaps an off-campus hospital emergency department and/or a federally qualified health center or other clinic providing substantially the same services for self·pay or low pay patients".

Since there were no hospital operators among the respondents in the original rigged process, there will be none now.

How can the process be called "reopened" when SUNY narrows the scope of acceptable responses and utterly disregards community input?

The six community groups, with the support of our elected officials, submitted a proposal for a reformed RFP process to SUNY. Despite negotiations, SUNY has chosen to ignore our good faith offer and has acted in bad faith by releasing its unilateral plan to the press before the community and the elected officials.

There is only one word for SUNY's actions today: contempt.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

An Open Letter to the Community & SUNY

The below open letter was delivered on January 23rd, to Carl McCall, the SUNY Trustees, Mayor de Blasio, Public Advocate Tish James, and other elected officials. It is signed by the six community groups who are co-petitioners in the LICH-related cases before Justices Baynes and Demarest. We think it's important and are therefore sharing it with the press.

Summary:
-The six community groups thank certain elected officials for their support in keeping LICH open.
-We call for SUNY's RFP process to be dismissed and for a new RFP process to be designed with community stakeholder voting power.
-In deciding to close LICH, SUNY has done no assessment of community health needs and no disaster-preparedness assessment. Furthermore, SUNY has never consulted any community group or local elected official in its plans for LICH.
-SUNY's RFP process improperly discouraged responses from full-service hospital operators.
-SUNY's decision to sell LICH was first and foremost a response to SUNY's own financial distress.
-SUNY's claims regarding LICH's alleged liabilities are based on false representations, which we debunk point by point in the letter.
-SUNY must account for the $85.7 million in Othmer funds that it directed to a malpractice trust, not all of which has been used to settle malpractice cases. SUNY must also account for all other missing portions of the $140 million Othmer Endowment.
-We stand ready to partner with SUNY in finding solutions for LICH whenever they are willing to talk with us.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

76th Precinct Community Council Meeting Tuesday, Blood Drive Thursday

76th Precinct Community Council Meeting Reminder
The next 76th Precinct Community Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2014, 7:30 PM, at the 76th Precinct Station House, 191 Union Street.
  
76th Precinct Blood Drive
The New York Blood Center will have their Mobile Blood Donation Busparked in front of the 76th Precinct Station House, located at 191 Union Street, on Thursday, January 9, 2014, from 12:30 PM, through 6:30 PM.