In surprise vote, SUNY board puts off plan to turn LICH into condos and urgent care center
LICH supporters jubilant, vow to push for full service hospital
Supporters of Long Island College Hospital (LICH) were jubilant late Tuesday after the SUNY board of trustees voted to table a resolution that would have allowed SUNY Downstate to begin negotiations to turn LICH into condos and an urgent care center.
SUNY’s Academic Medical Centers and Hospital Committee had expressed unease with the notion of selling LICH’s Cobble Hill, Brooklyn real estate before entering into discussions with the community and a new city administration. After pressure from SUNY chairman H. Carl McCall, however, the committee approved an amended resolution allowing negotiations with the developer to begin.
McCall said that if negotiations with Fortis weren’t approved, “then we can’t do anything.”
The executive committee was expected to rubber stamp the Hospital Committee’s decision — but within minutes McCall returned with word that the board would table the vote, leading the auditorium at the College of Optometry in Manhattan to break out in cheers.