Saving our Hospital

As we continue to work with our community and local electeds to keep a hospital open in our neighborhood, we're pleased to hear this Judge Betsy Barros has barred SUNY Downstate from taking any steps to close LICH, pending further hearings. Full details are available at the WNYC link below. 

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/feb/20/judge-blocks-suny-closing-long-island-college-hospital/

Thurs 2/14 @ 6pm Community Forum about LICH

text is copied from Councilman Brad Lander's newsletter... 
As you’ve probably heard, last Friday the SUNY Board of Trustees voted to close Long Island College Hospital, a community health care institution that has served Brooklyn for more than 150 years. LICH was acquired by SUNY Downstate in 2011.

The SUNY Board of Trustees vote authorizes SUNY Downstate to present a plan for closing LICH to the New York State Department of Health, which will make the final decision. I strongly oppose the proposal to close LICH, as I stated a hearing of the SUNY Board of Trustees last Thursday. It is the wrong plan, and will do real harm to families and to our community. This long-term abandonment of essential health care infrastructure would be an irreplaceable loss for downtown and brownstone Brooklyn. It will take tough decisions and strong leadership for SUNY Downstate to become a financially solvent institution, but the complete closure of LICH is simply unacceptable.

The New York State Nurses Association and 1199SEIU, who represent LICH workers, along with the Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Boerum Hill Neighborhood Associations and the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, are holding a community forum about LICH this Thursday, February 14th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Kane Street Synagogue. Please come to this important community meeting to learn more about how we can work together to save LICH.

Community Forum about LICH
Thursday, February 14, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Kane Street Synagogue, 236 Kane Street (between Court and Clinton)

For more information about the forum, contact Mickey Green from the New York State Nurses Association at 718-714-8863 or michelle.green@nysna.org.

Keep LICH Alive

Contact New York State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah at nrs02@health.state.ny.us or (518) 474-2011 and demand that Long Island College Hospital remains OPEN.

LICH updates

The Long Island College Hospital (LICH) is a vital community institution. It has been in our area for 150 years, employs 1900 people, and most importantly provides life-saving services to people in our area from DUMBO to Red Hook. There were 122,300 patient visits to LICH in 2012; 25,900 of those were visits to the ER.
      The Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY), which owns LICH is expected to propose at its meeting this Friday that the hospital be closed. By law, there has to be a "Public Meeting/ Hearing" to get this process started. The hearing will take place TODAY, Thursday, February 7, from 3:00-5:00 P.M. at the Auditorium of the College of Optometry, 33 West 42nd Street in Manhattan.
    Please join me and other religious, political, and health care leaders in opposing the closing of LICH. You can take these steps:

• Call Governor Cuomo at 518 474 8390 and tell him that our community needs this hospital.

• Attend a Rally for LICH on Friday, February 8 at LICH, at 8:30 A.M. followed by aHall  march to Borough Hall where there will be a press conference at 9:30 A.M and a public hearing at 10:30 A.M.

 • You can also show your concern by attending a community forum about LICH next Thursday, February 14, from 6-8 P.M. at the synagogue (236 Kane St). The forum is sponsored by the Cobble Hill Association, Brooklyn Heights Association, Carroll Garden Association, Kane Street Synagogue, New York State Nurses Association, and 1199 SEIU.

Sincerely,
The Cobble Hill Association

Thursday Hearing for LICH

McBrooklyn has already summed it up perfectly, so we're simply cross posting their blog entry below.

SUNY's Board of Trustees will be holding a special hearing on Thursday afternoon regarding the fate of LICH (Long Island College Hospital), with a public comment period starting around 3:30 p.m.

Showing how little regard SUNY has for public input at the meeting, they will announce their final decision Friday morning, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

Roy Sloane, president of the Cobble Hill Association, told the Eagle on Tuesday, “I feel a hearing taking place on Thursday for a Friday vote is a foregone conclusion. If the state were interested in meaningful comments they would have more than a 24-hour comment period.

“I don’t think anybody’s being fooled,” he said. “It’s a mockery of the public process.”

And that about sums it up.

Keep LICH Open!

After today's rally to show local support for our community's hospital, Assemblywoman Millman began an online petition at change.org to further demonstrate the significance of this institution. Please click below and add your name to the list of supporters.
http://www.change.org/petitions/chairman-h-carl-mccall-of-the-state-university-of-new-york-keep-university-hospital-brooklyn-at-long-island-college-hospital-open

Friday Rally to Save the Hospital

Having a strong long hospital is key to having a safe, strong, and healthy neighborhood. Recent articles have described financial troubles at Long Island College Hospital but the Cobble Hill Association remains committed to fighting for its survival. 

Tomorrow morning, Friday Jan 25th, State Senator Daniel Squadron will be rallying to save LICH. Details are available on the flyer above.  

Gowanus Canal Remediation: Public Meetings Jan 23rd & 24th

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late December released its Proposed Remedial Action Plan (PRAP) for the Gowanus Canal, which "describes the remedial alternatives considered for the Gowanus Canal Superfund site and identifies the preferred remedy with the rationale for this preference."

The preferred remedy being proposed by the EPA, for the upper and mid-reaches of the canal, consists of dredging all the hazardous "soft sediments" that have accumulated above the canal's native sediments, installing a multi-layered cap atop the native sediment, and stabilizing the native sediments in place in the areas of greatest contamination.  For the lower reach of the canal, the preferred remedy consists of the first two steps, minus the in-situ stabilization.  There are varied plans for the disposal of dredged materials.  In addition, the EPA is recommending the dredging of the filled-in 1st Street Turning Basin.  The EPA estimates the total cost of the preferred remedy at somewhere between $467 million and $504 million.

Furthermore, the EPA is recommending steps to prevent the recontamination of the canal through Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), as well as through the migration of harmful substances from contaminated upland sites.  The preferred remedy also presumes that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection will install retention basins with capacities of several million gallons at the canal's two largest sewer outfalls to help significantly reduce CSO events.

The 43-page Proposed Remedial Action Plan is available online as a PDF, at http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/pdf/gowanus_prap.pdf.  The EPA will accept public comments until March 28th.  Written comments can be submitted via email to GowanusCanalComments.Region2@epa.gov, by fax to (212) 637-3966, or by mail to:

Christos Tsiamis

Remedial Project Manager

Central New York Remediation Section

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

290 Broadway, 20th Floor

New York, NY 10007-1866

The EPA is also holding two public meetings this week, on January 23rd and 24th, to present the conclusions of the Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study, provide further elaboration on the reasons behind its recommendation, and to accept public comments.  Details of those meetings are as follows:

January 23rd, 2013

6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

PS 58, the Carroll School

330 Smith Street

Carroll Gardens

[Map]

January 24th, 2013

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Joseph Miccio Community Center

110 West 9th Street

Red Hook

[Map]

All comments made orally or submitted at the public meetings, and all comments submitted in writing by mail or electronic means, will be documented in the Responsiveness Summary Section of the Record of Decision, the EPA document that formalizes the selection of the final remedy.

The Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal will have a profound impact on the neighborhoods that surround it.  We encourage you to review the PRAP, attend one of the meetings, and, if you're so inclined, to weigh in with comments.

Christ Church Update

Credit Joanna Prisco

The Carroll Garden Patch inquired about Christ Church's reconstruction and unfortunately got word that designs have still not yet been finalized. Take a read of Joanna Prisco's full article at the link below.
http://carrollgardens.patch.com/articles/christ-church-steeple-reconstruction-delayed-indefinitely

Tree Chipping this weekend

We already chipped some Xmas trees last weekend at Cobble Hill Park, but this weekend it will continue with the Parks Department Mulchfest 2013. Please remember to remove all lights and ornaments before bringing the tree to the park and make sure to bring it only within the designated hours. 

Saturday and Sunday
January 12 & 13, 2013
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

More details available here...
http://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest

Cobble Hill Mulchfest January 5th

While the citywide Mulchfest program will be happening in two weeks, January 12th & 13th, Cobble Hill will be having its own tree recycling one week earlier... on Saturday, January 5th, at Cobble Hill Park. Please see the flyer below for full details. 

Gowanus Canal Superfund Update

Just a few days ago, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency released their proposed Gowanus Canal cleanup plan and schedule of public meetings. 

The plan, the accompanying Press Release, and a new Feasibility Study Report Addendum can all be downloaded from: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/.

The EPA will hold public meetings on January 23, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at Public School 58, 330 Smith Street, Brooklyn and on January 24, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the NYCHA Miccio Community Center, 110 West 9th Street, Brooklyn to discuss the proposed plan and answer questions.
The EPA will accept public comments on its proposed plan until March 28, 2013. Also of note, the head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, just recently stepped down from her position in the Obama administration.