[View the story "Hospitals, not condos" on Storify ]Hospitals, not condos New Yorkers fight hospital closures across the city. Storified by AJAMStream · Mon, Aug 19 2013 12:55:13
Happy to see great turnout for #hospitalsnotcondos rally. Even happier to hear ppl talking about #healthcare as a #humanright. Its time.Nastaran
Chanting "hospitals over condos" & "patients over profits" at rally at St. Vincent's site as people gather http://pic.twitter.com/OCy6zRj4EoVOCAL-NY
Among those protesting were New York City mayoral candidate
Bill de Blasio , activist Harry Belafonte, and actresses Cynthia Nixon and Susan Sarandon.
Ill be at St Vincent's Hosp at noon @deBlasioNYC rally! ISusan Sarandon, Harry Belafonte and Cynthia Nixon. #HospitalsNotCondos #SaveLICH.Lizz Winstead
"Let's make sure every single New Yorker has a place to go!" - @SusanSarandon #hospitalsnotcondos http://pic.twitter.com/BP67P5xpMJBill de Blasio
This list is TOO long: #saveStJohns #saveNCB #saveStLukes #SaveLICH #saveInterfaith. Patients deserve a moratorium on all hospital closuresNYSNA
THIS IS OUR FIGHT TO LOSE! SAVE ST. JOHN'S HOSPITAL; IT'S THE LAST ONE WE HAVE IN THE ROCKAWAYS! Speaking for... fb.me/PjWGSRODRYTF
@nynurses in @NYDailyNews fighting to keep yet another hospital unit open #saveNCB http://pic.twitter.com/ECEAXYn1Pzny nurse
Twitter users have started
#SaveLICH to document protests against the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate. The school tried to close its Long Island College Hospital for
financial reasons , but was met with
civil disobedience from citizens and city council members.
Brooklyn is slowly becoming a medical desert. @SUNY, do you even care?: http://bit.ly/14VOPy4 cc: @nynurses #SaveLICHSean Collins
Councilman @bradlander & CityCouncil candidate @KirstenJohnFoy blocking the Brooklyn Bridge #Disobedience #SaveLICH http://pic.twitter.com/9kVxNtyVAWPinny Ringel
City council member Letitia James tweeted:
looking out from fountain at crowd in Foley Sq #SaveLICH #saveourhospitals @1199SEIU @nynurses http://pic.twitter.com/GnZggjSuyWLetitia James
.@bradlander asks how many people have been arrested to save LICH. Big cheers. #race4care #savelichSarah Jaffe
Eventually, a court
ordered SUNY to maintain hospital service, though there have been reports that SUNY is not
abiding by the order.
SUNY tried 2 padlock LICH, violated court orders in broad daylight. Now after court fight, huge step fwd 2 #SaveLICH: http://advocate.nyc.gov/LICH-orderBill de Blasio
Some netizens are saying the primary focus should be on improving standards of care at hospitals:
This is going to be controversial. I don't want #Interfaith closed b/c ppl need a hospital in their nabe. But their services #SUCKED.Lurie Daniel Favors
Rather than fighting to keep a subpar hospital open, I wish the community would rally to enhance the level of services provided. #InterfaithEv
But others are cautioning about the potentially dire situation for emergency care if the hospitals close:
City council member Stephen Levin tweeted:
Hurt my foot today, went to LICH ER. Excellent care, staff was professional and courteous. Lets keep up the fight to #savelich #open4careStephen Levin
150 patients ER Methodist. Before diversions from LICH, Interfaith: 60 usual. #saveLICH #Race4Careelizabeth_grove
@elizabeth_grove 3x the patients but not 3x the space or 3x the staff. Cannot be quality care. Somethings (ppl) fall thru cracks. #saveLICHjs
Losing #Interfaith is not an option. Prepared to take whatever steps required to keep community hospital doors open. http://pic.twitter.com/g2j5d89roKBill de Blasio
Why #SaveLICH? Here's a look at the before & after distances to the nearest ER if you live in Cobble Hill, #Brooklyn: http://pic.twitter.com/jwmEKrB4i0Doctors Council SEIU
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.