Community Corner

Court Upholds Restraining Order Against SUNY

And Long Island College Hospital lives to see another day.

After two days of contentious back and forth between legal teams at the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court regarding the fate of Cobble Hill's Long Island College Hospital, a judge ruled to uphold a temporary restraining order barring it from closure.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio had procured the restraining order—the third issued since March—last month just as SUNY Downstate officials were diverting ambulances and alerting staff they should vacate the premises of the 155-year-old health center. de Blasio's lawyers assert that SUNY Downstate has violated the law by preventing individuals from receiving medical care and should face criminal penalties.

Justice Johnny Lee Baynes, who is hearing the case brought by New York State Nurses Association and other organizations against The New York State Health Department, had originally stated that he could require a week "of daylong hearings before deciding whether to dismiss the latest civil actions seeking to keep the hospital open," according to a report by the New York Times.

"The denial by the appellate court of SUNY's motion for an appeal and stay is another victory for our movement to keep LICH open for care," stated Jill Furillo, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association in reaction to Thursday's decision. "It's time for SUNY to abide by the temporary restraining orders and stop diverting ambulances from LICH. Every moment they wait to do that, they are putting Brooklyn patients at risk." 

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