Barred From SUNY Agenda, LICH Nurses Plan Westchester Rally

After a Brooklyn Supreme Court judged ruled last week that SUNY violated the Open Meetings Law by failing to make their vote available to members of the public, trustees will convene on Tuesday at noon in Westchester for a second hearing. But despite the remote locale, board members will not allow LICH activists room on the meeting agenda to speak out.

Taking matters into their own hands, nurses announced on Tuesday that they will hold a rally prior to the meeting, no matter the weather outside.

"Holding the vote in Purchase is another attempt to silence the voices of Brooklyn nurses and patients and to lock us out of the process. It's unacceptable," said Jill Furillo, RN Executive Director of the New York State Nurses Association.

"Since SUNY wouldn't give us any time on the agenda to speak before the vote," she went on, "we're holding our own speakout. Rain, sleet, or snow—we'll be there in force to make SUNY listen to the voices of caregivers and patients."

As such, buses will be loading up LICH nurses, doctors, caregivers, patients, members of the Cobble Hill Association, Friends of Sunset Park, the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, the Brooklyn Heights Association, National Action Network, and New York Communities for Change at Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill and riding to Westchester at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

For those who would prefer to take their own transportation to the hearing, the vote will be held at SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York.

Anyone unable to attend can still help save LICH by calling New York State Health Comissioner Dr. Nirav Shah at 518-474-2011, said nurses. Supporters can also get involved by signing up for the LICH community alerts by texting "LICH" to 877-877.

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