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.

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.

Open Letter to SUNY re: LICH 1-22-14 by Paco Dave Abraham

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.

January 4th, 2014 - Christmas Tree mulching at Cobble Hill Park

Ten stripes for safety

Cobble Hill's newest crosswalk adds predictability to our pathways

It's now been over two months since NYC's Department of Transportation implemented a much needed crosswalk on Court street (near Bergen St) at the request of the Cobble Hill Association. Pedestrians had been walking sans crosswalk for years and risking their safety along what is a very obvious desire line for those crossing Court Street. Though it has likely taken both pedestrians and drivers some time to adjust to the new changes, there is now zero confusion as to when a pedestrian has right of way and drivers are legally obligated to yield.

Before the stripes were added, pedestrians crossed without a signal or any clear pathway.

Just how well does the new set up work? Yesterday I spotted an entire family walking safely and dragging a last minute Christmas Tree purchase across this safety zone. Cars calmly waited for them to pass before making the left turn from Bergen onto Court Street. While the tree itself probably made the family visible, there is no denying the new stripes and new signal made their intended pathway entirely predictable. Predictable patterns for cars, peds, and bikes alike, help keep us all safe on the road.

Once again, many thanks to the NYC DOT for their continued involvement and willingness to listen to the Cobble Hill Association's concerns along the Court Street corridor. Most especially, on behalf of the thousands who now cross Court street much more safely, thank you to Christopher Hrones at DOT. He has been the point person hearing us out, offering input, and coordinating our requests with the agency. We look forward to working with him to achieve even more improvements on our local streets in 2014.

LICH updates

What seemed like an early Christmas miracle come to Cobble Hill last week when SUNY Downstate succumbed to our community's vigilant voices and withdrew its plan to convert Long Island College Hospital to condos. Our own local leader, Jeff Strabone, told the NY Times "This is a victory for community power." For more on the story, read the full article and other associated links pasted below.

NY Times: SUNY withdraws development plan
Crain's; SUNY tables LICH mall plan
Curbed: Condo Redevelopment Plan Halted For Brooklyn Hospital
The Real Deal: SUNY officials reject fortis hospital to condos plan

Brownstone Blues: Update

Last week we mentioned the sidewalk construction that got neighbors wondering what would happen to the historic brownstone slates in the ground. Thanks to Catherine Zinnel at Councilman Brad Lander's office, we are happy to announce the Department of Transportation confirmed...

National Grid is required to replace the sidewalk in kind. This means that National Grid will lay down new bluestones (as opposed to filling them in with concrete). DOT's Highway Inspection & Quality Assurance Office (HIQA), which inspects sidewalks, is also going to visit this location.

We are very happy to know the bluestone sidewalks of Cobble Hill will be replaced and Henry Street's visual character will be returned.

Bluestone Blues

19th century brownstones and a 50 foot heigh limit help give Cobble Hill its visual character, but they are only part of the equation. In our landmarked area, the most overlooked element may be what rests underneath our feet - the sidewalk.

Unlike most of the city that has concrete squares, much of Cobble Hill offers unique bluestone slates providing a smooth walking surface.

Construction began in late October along Henry Street's sidewalk, ripping up much of the surface with no notice of what project was underway. A tweet to Community Board 6 put it on their radar and brought the project's details to light. A water line running along Henry Street needs to be replaced. In order to safely replace it, Natural Grid needs to relocate an adjacent gas main currently too close to the water line for Department of Design and Construction to do the replacement work. Only the work done by National Grid requires cutting the sidewalk, which means it is National Grid's responsibility to repair the sidewalk.

Unfortunately their typical sidewalk repairs only involve poured concrete.

Having heard many concerns from the neighborhood, the Cobble Hill Association will work with the local community board to make sure the Department of Transportation pushes National Grid repair the sidewalks to their original condition when all construction work is complete. Stay tuned for more updates on this issue and ways to help make sure our landmarked area retains its distinct look.

76th Precinct Community Council Meeting, Tuesday Dec. 3rd

The next 76th Precinct Community Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, 7:30 PM at the 76th Precinct Station House, located at 191 Union Street, between Henry Street and Hicks Street. We encourage all residents to attend these meetings and get to know their local officers. Whether its complaints or compliments, this is the place to have an open discussion of what's happening in the neighborhood and what else you'd like to see.

Eat Pie and Shop at PS29

On Sunday December 8th, PS 29 is hosting its fifth annual Eat Pie and Shop holiday event. It's a pie social, celebrity-judged pie contest, artisan gift fair, professional portrait studio and children's activity (face painting, kids' choice pie contest, batiking) wrapped into one awesome family event.  

Eat Pie & Shop @ PS29

Sunday December 8, 11am - 4pm

425 Henry Street, between Baltic and Kane

www.eatpieandshop.org

• Pie Social: Taste delicious homemade and premium pies for $5 a slice or 5 for $20. Both sweet and salty options, so come for lunch and desert. Plus frozen custard from Shake Shack. 
• Celebrity-judged pie contest:  At 1pm, Gail Simmons, judge of “Top Chef,” Melissa Clark, food columnist for the New York Times and other kitchen pros will name the best pie of the pie contest. Come toast the winner and taste the winning pie. 
• Artisan Holiday Gift Fair: Take care of your holiday shopping while the kids do crafts. More than 30 vendors from Brooklyn flea markets will be displaying and selling their handmade goods, including jewelry, clothing and beautiful paper products as well as books and classic toys from fork + pencil.
• Children's Crafts and Activities: Face painting, glitter tattoos, batiking and a Kids Choice pie contest of kid baked pies. Your kids will have a blast!
• Professional Portrait Studio: You can get a beautiful portrait of your child/children taken during the event. $30 for one high-resolution image which you can print, email, gift to grandparents, etc. 
• Toys for Tots:  U.S. Marines will be on hand to pick up all donations of holiday gifts. 

All proceeds go to PS 29 programs. For more information, contact ps29eatpieandshop@gmail.com or visit www.eatpieandshop.org.

Transforming Health Care in Brooklyn Town Hall 11/19 @ 6pm

With the ongoing efforts to save our vitally important local hospital, we are happy to share news of a Brooklyn Law School Town Hall Meeting entitled "Transforming Health Care in Brooklyn." The event is free and open to the public and could offer valuable insight for the #SaveLICH fight. See the flyer below from Karen Porter, Associate Professor of Clinical Law.

Atlantic Avenue Tree Lighting, Dec 3rd @ 6pm

Come join the Atlantic Avenue local development corporation's annual holiday tree lighting party. It will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013 from 6-8PM at the Belarusian Church, 401 Atlantic Avenue. Full details in the flyer below.