Mary Immaculate plans revealed

From Brownstoner Queens:

Wowza: behold the future of the Mary Immaculate Hospital, to be converted into a residential development at 150-13 89th Avenue in Jamaica. YIMBY first published the rendering from the architects Goldstein, Hill & West. The Chetrit Group is moving forward to develop the site after purchasing it in 2009 and facing some construction holdups. The 298,000-square-foot, 324-unit complex spans an entire city block and faces Rufus King Park.

Problems at Mary Immaculate site

From DNA Info:

Mary Immaculate Hospital near downtown Jamaica had become an eyesore since it went bankrupt in 2009. Many windows are broken and, neighbors said, squatters have lived inside.

Now, as the work to transform the building into market-rate apartments begins, the community hopes it will become an asset in the neighborhood that's undergoing a number of changes.

But the demolishion of the interior of the building, which started several weeks ago, has already run into problems by producing "excessive debris at the site," said Gloria Chin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings, and on Monday the city issued a stop work order.

"Work cannot continue until this matter is resolved," Chin wrote in an e-mail.

Residents said that over the years the building has become home to trash and vandals. Squatters have also lived there, said Joe Moretti, 55, a database manager, who has long advocated to clean up the site.

“It’s not like a desolate area," Moretti said. "This is right near downtown Jamaica, it’s right across from Rufus King Park, it’s right near a section where there are apartment buildings.”

Mary Immaculate looks worse than previously reported

From Clean Up Jamaica Queens:

Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, which was located at 152-11 89th Avenue, right across from Rufus King Park, closed it’s doors back in 2009 like so many other Queens Hospitals, including Jamaica’s other hospital, St. John’s Queens, putting 2500 hospital employees out of work and putting a big burden on the people of Jamaica and Queens.

Since then the boarded up hospital sits there and not looking so immaculate these days.

Even though there has been talk of the large building being turned into condos or market rate apartments (and there are work permits posted all over), the once immaculate hospital is looking pretty shitty these days. Open windows side by side with many broken windows (talk about your Broken Window Theory), boarded up windows and doors, an air conditioner hanging barely from one window, huge tree branches broken and crashed into the railings of the adjacent parking garage, garbage strewn around, including mattresses, shopping carts and furniture, plus homeless people can be seen sleeping on the outside (maybe in the inside), the place is easily accessible, since there are very little fences around the buildings main entrance.

So Jamaica endures another eyesore in the community, a huge one just a couple of blocks from the downtown area.

What's happening at Mary Immaculate Hospital?

Photo by Joe Moretti

Sir:

I wanted to bring to your attention the increasing deterioration of the former Mary Immaculate Hospital, since it was sold back in 2009.

I pass this area with some frequency, and was appalled at what I saw the last time: a huge graffiti tag at the roof line front facade, and numerous broken or wide-open windows.

Whatever 'sealing' the building underwent at closure has failed: it appears that people can now gain access easily. That means increasing vandalism, destruction, and a potential for catastrophic fire.

Nothing has been 'developed' since closure. I have no idea who owns the property now, who I can alert to the potential dangers I observed.

Any commentary or suggestions would be appreciated.

Ben

Well, Ben, it seems as though the owner of this property made some changes to his plan and was reissued permits this past Tuesday. So, hopefully, the building will be renovated soon. The building is in an R6 zone, so a lot of apartments can be put there.

Dear Governor

Op-Ed: What Is Wrong With Everyone In Queens? (from the Queens Gazette)
BY JOHN KRALL

Dear Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo,

I am writing this Op-Ed piece to simply ask you, the new sheriff in town, what can be done to fix the healthcare crisis in our borough of Queens, the borough where your father started his political career and where you grew up.

It is a fact that the waiting times in all Queens Emergency Rooms exceed 18 hours, the borough is more than 1,000 in-patient beds short, and patients can wait in hallways up to 3 days before being moved to their rooms. Are we living in a third world country? Queens is one of the largest counties in the state, if not the country by density of population and our healthcare services are considered the worst by any measurable standard. We are a swine flu or terrorist attack away from an epic disaster. Doesn’t anyone realize this or even care?

Since 2007 four major hospitals have been closed in Queens, three voluntarily and one was forced to close. Of these four facilities, those that were closed voluntarily all have been gutted and their properties sold off to developers for non-healthcare related projects. It is interesting to note that these same three facilities were given in excess of $100 million of state funds to remain open before they were closed and none of these funds were returned after they were liquidated. Why were the CEOs of these “not-for-profit” entities paid millions of dollars to basically act in such an intolerable business manner? It is very apparent that they cared more about hiding what they did with the $100 million of state funds then they cared about the quality of healthcare for the people of Queens.

The Berger Commission was formed to try and save the state monies in determining excesses in healthcare dollars so that monies could be targeted where it could best be utilized. This process has not worked because the Berger Commission has not been able to enforce the closure of at least 50 percent of the originally flagged facilities. The Berger Commission was originally chartered with deciding which hospitals and nursing homes were deemed necessary and which were redundant back in 2006. Unfortunately today, even the DOH acknowledges that the conditions that Berger used to make these evaluations have changed. The DOH today agrees that Queens is in need of at least 1,000 plus in-patient acute care beds. Queens has the worst ratio of patient to inpatient beds of all the counties in NY State.

There is one facility left in the entire borough of Queens that can become a hospital today. It can become operational in 120 days utilizing no state or city funds and it can hire more than 1,000 people in this time period. It can put 251 acute care inpatient beds back online and will infuse back to the city and state in excess of $5 million dollars in sales and real estate taxes while creating a 20 bed Emergency Room into a community where 18 hour wait times are the norm. It can offer other critical medical services such as seven operating rooms, advanced radiology, Lab, ICU, CCU and more. It will service communities such as Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth and Woodhaven. All of these communities have not experienced quality patient care during the past decade and more. In addition, having this particular facility come back online is critical in case of a terrorist attack or medical emergency. It is located half way between both LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports and across from Flushing Meadows Corona Park. In case of a disaster, you can land helicopters in the park and you can triage people and move them around quickly since Queens Blvd, LIE, Van Wyck, Grand Central Parkway are all within minutes from this facility.

Governor-elect Cuomo, the facility that I am alluding to is Parkway Hospital. It would cost the state in excess of $1.2 million per inpatient bed or about $300 million to replace what you have today on the service road of the Grand Central Parkway. By simply being granted the operating license of Parkway Hospital the county would gain all the benefits of a state of the art medical facility but it would cost the city and state zero dollars.

Since you are taking over the reigns of a new administration and in your campaign you promised to clean up Albany, why not start in Queens by helping our local politicians, both Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately, this week, we lost a great Democratic leader Gloria D’Amico. After speaking with her many times I know of her great concern for the quality of healthcare in Queens. In addition, my 81 year old mother lives in the area where Parkway Hospital would service and I am very concerned where her or her friends would have to go if they needed quality inpatient hospital services today.

I urge you, Mr. Cuomo, to read this letter carefully and consider what I am saying here. The people and politicians of Queens County are looking for a strong Democratic leader to guide them through the political process of reopening Parkway Hospital.

Parkway Hospital is waiting for the political winds to change and allow its reopening as of January 1, 2011.

I hope this letter has hit its mark.

Fewer hospitals, more clinics (and bike lanes!)

From the Daily News:

QUEENS MAY BE running a little low on hospitals these days, but there seems to be an abundance of medical clinics and centers popping up around the borough.

North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System just opened an urgent care clinic in Rego Park to help alleviate the pressure on local emergency rooms.

North Shore also opened up two ambulatory centers of medical specialists in Flushing and Whitestone within the last few weeks. That's in addition to the other clinics that have been created within the past year or two.

"The establishment of new urgent-care centers is not intended to replace hospital emergency departments," said state Health Department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond in a statement. "Rather, they provide an alternative to a closed physician office or inappropriate use of emergency departments."

There is no official count of how many medical centers are in the borough, agency officials said.

But the state has awarded almost $50 million to Queens hospitals and health care institutions since the closure of St. John's Queens Hospital, in Elmhurst, and Mary Immaculate Hospital, in Jamaica, in March 2009.

North Shore received a $5.3million grant from the state to open its urgent care center in the former St. John's primary clinic on Queens Blvd.

WAIT!!! We have good news to report. Right outside St. John's, we may see a shiny new bike lane along Queens Blvd. Isn't that what's most important to us all?

Mary Immaculate to become cancer center?

From Crains:

Backers of a hugely expensive proposed proton beam cancer treatment facility in Jamaica, Queens, are pinning their hopes of winning the necessary state approvals on ties to several powerful local politicians.

Currently the New York State Department of Health is reviewing three competing proposals for a proton beam facility in the area, including two in New York City.

Proton beam technology allows radiation to be emitted in precisely focused cancer-killing doses, but the cost of building and equipping such a facility is more than $200 million. The cost is so prohibitive that currently there are only eight such centers in the U.S.

The leading contender is a consortium of several of the city's leading hospitals: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian. They are pitching a $227 million facility proposed for West 57th Street in Manhattan. The hospitals will provide some equity, with additional financing arranged by their partner 21st Century Oncology, a national developer and operator of about 100 radiation therapy centers.

A second contender is Vassar Brothers Medical Center, which hopes to join with New York-Presbyterian to open a $201 million proton-beam center upstate in Fishkill, N.Y.

A $273 million center proposed for the former site of Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens is the most controversial of the three, in part because of its heavy reliance on political muscle to carry the day. Officially known as The Proton Therapy Cancer Center of New York, or TPTCC NY, its backers are negotiating with the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and SUNY Downstate Medical Center about a clinical affiliation with the proposed center.

But against overwhelming competition from its Manhattan rival, the consortium of New York's most prestigious medical centers, the Queens project ranks as the distinct underdog in the race for approval.

To improve its odds, TPTCC NY has enlisted the aid of three politicians. For openers, TPTCC NY is behind a Senate bill (S8419), sponsored by Sen. Majority Leader John Sampson of Brooklyn, that would make the state approve more than one of the three projects. Referred to the Senate rules committee on June 30, the bill reads “the operation of more than one demonstration site in a large city will better allow the Department of Health to test the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of proton beam therapy. Furthermore, estimated demand for such services exceeds maximum capacity for a single site.”

The Queens project has other politicians on its side. Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Ed Towns are supporting a controversial plan to help it raise capital. Its backers filed a request with the Department of Homeland Security to raise $250 million using the federal EB 5 foreign investment program. Under the proposal, 500 foreign investors will each put up $500,000, and as a result, if all conditions are met, will get permanent U.S. residency in return.

Last month, Mr. Schumer wrote a letter to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in support of this proposal "to raise $250 million of foreign investment to construct a much-needed groundbreaking cancer treatment facility in New York City that will create an estimated 2,800 jobs and save countless American lives."

Hospital closure bill passes

From the Times Ledger:

The closings of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals inspired a bill passed by the state Legislature last week that would require the state to hold a hearing about plans to shutter hospitals and issue plans for filling the gap in health care services in affected communities.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) and Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica), the state Legislature unanimously passed the Hospital Closure Planning Act last week. Lawmakers will send it to Gov. David Paterson’s desk within the next several weeks, after which he will have 10 days to decide whether or not to sign the bill that borough lawmakers said addresses a need to give the public more of a voice about hospitals slated to be shuttered.

Lancman and Huntley have criticized the state DOH for its response to the closure of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate and said this act will help lay the groundwork for a comprehensive plan to meet New York’s health care needs. The bill would require the state DOH to hold a public forum within 30 days of a hospital closure and issue a plan for addressing the consequence of the loss of health care services.

Paterson had vetoed the Hospital Closure Planning Act in September 2009, but lawmakers said they revamped the bill to address his concerns, including decreasing the number of hearings from two to one.

Borough hospitals still overwhelmed

From NY1:

Health care officials in Queens say the ripple effects of last year's hospital closures have presented new challenges, especially when it comes to emergency care.

From NY1:

Jamaica Hospital, located in southern Queens a mile away from the closed Mary Immaculate Hospital, is dealing with a steady increase of patients in its emergency room, trauma center and psychiatric emergency room.

From NY1:

Elmhurst Hospital is almost filled to capacity these days, and local officials hope the recently-closed St. John's Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital can be used once again to provide Queens with much-needed hospital beds.

From NY1:

While the state gave $40 million to Queens's remaining hospitals for new facilities last year, local medical officials still say the state needs to invest more money in the borough's health care infrastructure.

Another eyesore ambulance

Parked behind an abandoned newsstand, opposite the entrance to an abandoned LIRR station, sits this former Mary Immaculate ambulance, minus a few parts. Just another friendly reminder that the borough's health care system is going to hell in a hand basket in case you haven't been to a local emergency room lately.

Mary Immaculate and St. John's Queens Hospitals closed 1 year ago today.

Mary Immaculate owner's silent partner takes over

From the Times Ledger:

The ever-evolving fate of what was once Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica has changed course once again.

Jack Guttman, who purchased Mary Immaculate and St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst in an October bankruptcy auction, relinquished ownership of the Jamaica site to real estate developer Joseph Chetrit about three weeks ago, according to Isaac Abraham,a spokesman for Guttman. Guttman and Chetrit closed on the deal about two weeks ago, Abraham said.

Guttman is still the owner of the St. John’s site.

Chetrit and Guttman have had a troubled history with development in the city. In October Chetrit traded his property on 100th Street in Manhattan for a Jewish nursing home at 120 West 106 Street so he could develop upscale condominiums at the Jewish Home and Hospital Life Care site, whichis in an area slated for downsizing. Guttman and his father, Joshua Guttman, were charged with 434 counts of failure to maintain privately owned waterfront property after a 10-alarm fire broke out in 2006 at one of their Brooklyn properties, the Greenpoint Terminal Market.

Chetrit did not return a phone call to his Manhattan office.

Abraham did not say what role Chetrit played in the bankruptcy auction, but Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Borough President Helen Marshall, said the real estate developer was a silent partner with Guttman. Silent partners typically provide significant capital for an investment but do not have to submit their name for public knowledge.

“Guttman has a silent partner who now has control of the site,” Andrews said. “The borough president has tried to have a meeting with [Guttman] but without success. He has not returned our phone calls.”

Guttman never relayed information about Chetrit being involved in the $26 million purchase of Mary Immaculate and St. John’s in October to the borough president, Andrews said.

“It came about as a surprise,” he said.

Developer receptive to health care at former hospitals

From the Daily News:

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carla Craig denied the request filed this week on behalf of the Village Management Group, the runner-up in the Oct. 16 auction for St. John's Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica.

Village Management had said it hoped to place health care facilities at the sites. It also charged the bidding process was unfair.

The court's decision was a disappointment for Borough President Helen Marshall and others who say Queens desperately needs more medical centers. Guttman had originally ruled out using the buildings for health care, but seemed to leave the door open in a statement Wednesday.

"We are satisfied with the court's ruling and excited to begin the process necessary to put these properties back in use," said Guttman, president of Pearl Realty. "We have spoken to the borough president and are ready to work with the community to explore development opportunities that will make sense for Queens."

Hope for health care at hospital sites

From the Daily News:

A developer who wants to place health care facilities at the shuttered Mary Immaculate and St. John's Hospitals is asking a federal bankruptcy court judge to reopen the auction for those buildings.

The Village Management Group filed court papers Tuesday saying the bidding process was unfair.

They also presented a letter from New York Hospital Queens officials saying they would consider working with Village Management on a facility at the St. John's site.

Controversial developer Joshua Guttman made the highest bid at an Oct. 16 auction, promising $26.6 million for both properties.

Village Management noted it was the winning bidder for the Mary Immaculate site in Jamaica. But its bid for St. John's in Elmhurst was eclipsed by Guttman's.

Guttman has said the sites would likely be used for office space, educational or religious organizations, but not health care.

Borough President Helen Marshall and others have been lobbying to keep some sort of medical use in those locations, noting that Queens is woefully underserved.

In court papers, Village Management said it spoke with Guttman during a break in the auction and even had a handshake agreement to bid as a team.

Hospitals' sale to Guttman on hold

From the Daily News:

The sale of two shuttered Queens hospitals to a controversial developer has been temporarily blocked.

The state Dormitory Authority asked a federal bankruptcy court judge on Friday to hold off on approving the sale of St. John's Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital to an investment group headed by Joshua Guttman.

The authority, which is owed more than $62 million by bankrupt hospital owner Caritas Health Care, wants the court to consider reopening the auction. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for tomorrow.

Guttman made the highest bid at an Oct. 16 auction, promising $26.6 million for both properties.

The Dormitory Authority filed the motion after Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and others made a personal appeal to Gov. Paterson at a Queens County Democratic Party dinner Thursday night.

3 hospitals have no hope for revival

From The Real Deal:

Brooklyn-based developer and investment group Guttman Realty made the winning bid for the auction of two bankrupt Caritas Healthcare properties, with the aggregate purchase price coming in at $26.63 million.

The buyer has not settled on an official use for the two properties, but is considering transforming the Mary Immaculate site for educational, religious, non-profit or governmental use, and using the St. John's site as an office building.

From the Daily News:

Guttman gained notoriety when one of his properties, the Greenpoint Terminal Market, was the scene of a 10-alarm fire in 2006. He and his partners were charged with hundreds of counts of environmental crimes - one for each day they were in violation - for failing to maintain the site prior to the fire.

And from the Queens Courier:

A mandatory injunction to reopen The New Parkway Hospital was denied in U.S. Federal Court on Tuesday, October 20.

“We were very disappointed at the end decision,” said Dr. Robert Aquino, owner/CEO.

At the hearing, former Assemblymember Anthony Seminerio – who pleaded guilty to one count of honest services mail fraud and vacated his seat after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him for receiving approximately $1 million from hospitals and related entities – had been subpoenaed to testify, but the judge deemed it unnecessary.

Hospitals sold to realtor for cheap

From the Queens Courier:

At an auction on Friday, October 16, both St. John’s Queens and Mary Immaculate Hospitals – shuttered earlier this year – were sold to the highest bidder.

According to Dan Andrews, spokesperson for Borough President Helen Marshall, the properties, formerly owned by Caritas, were bought by Brooklyn-based Guttman Realty for a total price of $26.625 million.

A Bankruptcy Court hearing is set for Thursday, October 22 to approve the transaction, though a manager who answered the phone at Guttman Realty told The Courier she had no knowledge of the sale.

Photo from the Daily News

Caritas hospitals up for auction 10/16

Photo by Pat Cotillo, Jr.

Crain's reports that Mary Immaculate and St. John's Queens Hospital will be offered at auction October 16:

Each site will be auctioned separately. The starting bid for St. John's and Mary Immaculate is $13.5 million and $4.35 million, respectively.

Both sites are zoned for residential and/or commercial use. The successful bidder of the properties will be able to do what they want with the properties as long as it is within zoning rules.

CUNY's Interactive Journalism blog takes one last look inside Mary Immaculate:

If you look past the piles of garbage, the torn window shades, and the broken furniture, it’s easy to imagine the millions of patients this hospital has treated over the decades, and the old nuns and priests roaming the halls. As we walked down the hallway to the hospital’s chapel, Ed paused to point out the rings of rust on the cream-colored walls. That’s where I hung the old historical photos, he said, shaking his head.

Many civic leaders I’ve spoken to point out that the hospital sits on the most prime real estate in Jamaica—overlooking the sprawling green lawns of Rufus King Park. They think it’s going to be turned into luxury apartments.

And I get the same impression.

Board recommends reactivating closed hospitals to handle swine flu

From the Times Newsweekly:

Spurred by fears that the H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic could hit Queens hard in the weeks and months to come, the Queens Borough Board and Cabinet recommended this week that the city reopen three closed hospitals in the event of a widespread outbreak to help treat the sick.

The Queens Borough Board— comprised of the chairpersons of all 14 community boards—adopted at its Sept. 21 meeting a joint resolution from the Health and Human Services committees of Community Boards 4 and 5 calling for the reactivation of St. John’s, Mary Immaculate and Parkway hospitals should the borough’s nine other medical centers become swamped with flu patients.

Members of the Queens Borough Cabinet—which includes the district managers of each board—approved the recommendation during their meeting at Queens Borough Hall the following day, Tuesday, Sept. 22, according to Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano.

Under the terms of the committees’ resolution, the city was asked to formulate a short-term plan to reactivate St. John’s, Mary Immaculate and Parkway hospitals in the event the influenza epidemic reaches “crisis” proportions.

NYSDOH: Queens short of hospital beds before 3 hospitals closed

"The New York State Department of Health has prepared a report that has the conclusion that all considered obvious: Queens County did not have a sufficient number of beds before Parkway and the Caritas hospitals closed and Queens County is in urgent need of additional beds as soon as possible.

The report notes that Queens currently has 27% of New York City’s population. Its population density is greatest in the area of Elmhurst-Astoria, extending east toward Flushing and southeast toward Jamaica. The population is expected to increase by 4-8% over the next decade.

In 2007, before the closing of the three hospitals in Queens (Parkway, St. John’s and Mary Immaculate), there were 193 licensed beds per 100,000 population, compared to 251 per 100,000 population in Brooklyn. Applying age-specific ’04-’06 admission rates the NYS Department of Health estimates that the number of inpatient admissions by Queens residents will increase by at least 3% to as great as 10% by the year 2015, a mere six years away. One must bear in mind, that if plans were implemented to erect a new hospital today, it would still take a minimum of five years from today to build a single hospital at a cost of more than 1.2 million dollars per bed.

During the period 2006-2008, emergency room visits grew by 6%, admissions by 14%, and the admission rate by 8%.

The report notes that Parkway and the Caritas hospitals that have closed served about 8% of Queens medical-surgical patients in 2007. The Department of Health says that these closings require a “restructuring” of the healthcare system in the borough to “accommodate” the patients who would have used these facilities.

In the end, the Department of Health concludes that there is a need for an additional 535-835 inpatient beds in Queens by 2015, beyond those remaining after the hospital closings. Even if recommendations for reducing average length of stay and reducing preventable hospitalizations were implemented and realized, 210 to 510 new beds would still be needed. There are 160 new beds anticipated in previously planned expansions, which may or may not occur in the current fiscal climate. Thus, under the most optimistic outlook, Queens would remain short of 50-350 beds necessary to meet the 2015 projections. This shortage of beds is remedied by the reopening of Parkway’s 251 beds.

This report only goes only to 2008 and It is clear the patients that are admitted are sicker, there are increasing admissions, but the report fails to take into account that where are the over 18,000 admissions from St. John's, Mary Immaculate and Parkway. Where are they going and where are they now? And, ask what is happening with the doctors in practice; how are they being effected, with sicker patients, more admissions, less access to care.

And, none of this addresses the criminal fraud of disgraced Assemblyman Anthony Seminario, Medisys CEO David Rosen (Jamaica Hospital-who bribed Seminario), members of the DOH who acted with Seminario and Rosen, the Berger Commission numbers; to drive Parkway out of business, close hospitals, put the health and well being of Queens citizens at risk. All of this combined with the statistical analysis is shocking to the conscious of the good people of the State of New York. Where is DOH? One must ask, "How has the DOH done their health care planning models for the last years"? Why does DOH remain absent and in hiding? What guilt do they hold?

Read the DOH's own admission of guilt at their own link." - anonymous

St. John's, MIH now officially on the market

From NY1:

The buildings of two closed Queens hospitals are now for sale.

The broker interviewed in the piece said that he expected bidders interested in the following -

St. John's: Residential or retail
MIH: Nursing home or residential

Comptroller William Thompson wrote an op-ed in today's Daily News about the effect the closures are having on other hospitals, especially in wake of the swine flu epidemic.