Daily Archives: May 19, 2016

Mt. Sinai says it’s not closing Beth Israel

The hospital says more facilities will be built but hasn’t said if any will be lost. Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

The hospital says more facilities will be built but hasn’t said if any will be lost. (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Sabina Mollot

Following a news report in The Villager last week that the main campus of Mount Sinai Beth Israel would close (leaving some services like the ambulatory care center and the methadone clinics), the hospital, while not outright denying a closure of that facility, insisted that services will continue and, in fact, be enhanced.

Meanwhile, local elected officials have chimed in to say they’d press the Mount Sinai system for some transparency on its plans. This includes Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh who said that even if Mount Sinai is planning a closure, there is a lengthy process the mammoth medical system would have to go through at the state level, so nothing should be considered a done deal.

The Villager story, which cited three (and later four) anonymous nurses, who’d been warned about a looming closure but were instructed to keep their mouths shut, followed a story in Capital New York last fall in which Mount Sinai’s executives only admitted they wanted to downsize.

Continue reading →

Man robbed at First Ave. ATM

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police are on the lookout for four men who robbed a man as he was leaving the Bank of America ATM at East 21st Street and First Avenue last Friday night.

The crime, one of two robberies at ATMs in the 13th Precinct in the last month, was reported by Deputy Inspector Brendan Timoney, the precinct’s commanding officer, at the most recent Community Council meeting on Tuesday. Timoney said the other robbery took place at an ATM on Seventh Avenue recently.

In the incident across from Peter Cooper Village, Timoney said that a man went into the vestibule around 11:30 p.m. and got $60 in cash. As he was leaving and was about to get on his skateboard, he said that four men approached him and a scuffle ensued. Police searched the area for the suspects, who were all described as black, at the time but no arrests have been made. Timoney said that officers are planning to search the area again for new leads.

“Be aware of your surroundings when you’re going in there,” he advised. “If you see a group of people outside the ATM, maybe go to a different one.”

Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor, May 19

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Cutting ST bus stop would harm seniors

Re: “Stuy Town M23 bus stops may be consolidated,” T&V, Apr. 14

The following is an open letter to Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg regarding the possible/closure elimination of the mid-block East 20th Street Crosstown 23.

I write to inquire the reason for/logic of the proposed consolidation of this bus stop. As well, I write to bring to your attention some other information which should be in the file, whilst the matter is being reviewed. Information perhaps not known to the expert sitting at a desk in an office devising a plan.

I live in Stuyvesant Town, just across the street (south) from the bus stop. As you know, 20th Street is very wide. There is ample room for other vehicles to pass a stopped bus. That is if the operator follows the rules and pulls into the curb. This rule is frequently not observed by drivers.

This is a very busy stop, serving diverse populations. I see the young with their hockey sticks and golf clubs en route to Chelsea Piers. I see parents with toddlers. I see seniors with their walkers — as many as three! They ride the bus over to Second to the grocery or Epiphany Church or the next stop to the Epiphany Branch Library and the Stein Senior Center. They could make it to the stops on Avenue C or First Avenue. To eliminate the mid-block stop would seriously circumscribe the possibilities for seniors. If not eliminate them entirely. Have you seen the New York Times science section this week on this very subject?

I am 80 years old and quite limber. I walked from the stop on Avenue C to the mid-block stop and then on to the First Avenue one. My stride I would estimate at 2.5 feet. Here are the number of strides; I’ll let your staff do the math. From Avenue C to the mid-block stop is 500 strides. From mid-block to First Avenue it is 200 strides plus 10.

I look forward to your reply. Or, if you prefer, I could come to your office to discuss the matter at hand.

Catha Grace Rambusch, ST

Continue reading →