Are a few people showing support for building the "Ground Zero Mosque" in their neighborhoods enough to start a "tug-of-war"? Sure, why not? According to the Post, there could be a struggle between TriBeCa and the West Village for who gets the privilege of having the Park51 project built in their 'hood. Though Park51 reps have denied any plans to move the project to the old St. Vincent's building, a few West Village residents are hopeful that there's still a chance. more ›

Apparently all those claims made by attorney Dudley Gaffin that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia wants to move the "Ground Zero Mosque" to the old St. Vincent's facilities were false, or are so secret that even people deeply involved with the project don't even know about it. Project adviser Daisy Khan told the Daily News, "No one has contacted me or my husband about it," and her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, said, "I remain committed to the idea of the creation of a multifaith community center in lower Manhattan." But stabbing the heartland, etc! more ›

So, remember that whole "Ground Zero Mosque" hullabaloo from last summer, which spurred a polarizing debate about a proposed Islamic community center for lower Manhattan that wasn't actually at Ground Zero? Newt Gingrich once said it was, "designed to undermine and destroy our civilization," while Mayor Bloomberg said, "I think it's fair to say that the mosque as an issue goes away on November 3 [the day after election day]." While it's pretty obvious Bloomberg was right, Gingrich and his fellow anti-mosque contingent may be happy to learn that the Saudi royal family is feeling out officials and community leaders about a plan to move the mosque to the West Village...to the shuttered St. Vincent's Medical Center. more ›

The first thing Google suggests when you type in Harlem currently is "Harlem Hospital." So of course locals would be upset at the rumors that the financially troubled hospital would be closing. So let's be clear everybody: Harlem Hospital is not closing. It is just, like most hospitals these days, going through a tough time. more ›

After an apparent dispute over rent and birth control, North Shore-LIJ and VillageCare have abandoned plans to open an urgent care center at the now-shuttered St. Vincent's Hospital and will instead open a 20,000 square foot facility on West 20th Street. North Shore-LIJ's president and CEO Michael Dowling said to NY1, "It's just a few blocks from Saint Vincent's Hospital. It's very central to the community -- more to the west, which is actually preferable to a lot of people. And if we had been in the Saint Vincent's facility we would have only been there for a short period of time anyway." more ›

Nearly four months after the 160-year-old Greenwich Village hospital closed its doors, talks to open an urgent care clinic at St. Vincent's have stalled over rent and...birth control. The NY Times spoke to officials "close to the negotiations" who said St. Vincent's officers "were asking for higher-than-market rent and for a huge financial penalty if the urgent-care center failed to move out immediately if a buyer were found for the hospital building" and were "trying to force the clinic to conform to Catholic doctrine by prohibiting it from prescribing birth-control drugs or providing counseling on birth-control methods." more ›

And now we know why they shut down. A group of former St. Vincent's employees filed a lawsuit today claiming the hospital lied about their debt because higher-ups were spending millions on themselves. The hospital allegedly spent $104 million on "other" costs, including a $278,000 golf trip. Attorney Thomas D. Shanahan told NY1, "The public deserves better than to hear a hospital was 'bankrupt' under a crushing $1 billion debt, when it seems they had substantial public monies coming in and that the hospital was mismanaged." St. Vincent's hospital closed in April, citing $1 billion in debt. About 3,500 people lost their jobs. more ›

Sigh. Vanishing New York noticed that an outdoor courtyard at the now-closed St. Vincent's Hospital's O'Toole building has become a dumping ground of discarded medical equipment—a "tangled graveyard of exam tables, scales, IV stands, walkers, chairs, and much more. I don't know what's to become of this equipment. Left out in the elements, it looks a lot like trash. And visible red stickers announce the single-word instruction: DESTROY." DESTROY=Leave on NYC street, apparently. more ›

In the days since the official closing of St. Vincent's hospital, locals have transformed the shuttered doors into a shrine to the former West Village institution. The doors are adorned with poetry, notes, drawings, and even a dedication to "the crooks complicit in the murder of this hospital and the politicians who turned their backs." Many just recall their time spent in St. Vincent's. The hospital officially closed on April 30th after being open for 160 years. more ›

New data from the American Hospital Association shows that Queens' hospitals are some of the most overcrowded in the country. A combination of hospital closings, a growing population and a high percentage of elderly residents have put the 10 remaining hospitals in the borough in a dangerous position. Kenneth E. Raske, president of Greater New York Hospital Association, told the Wall Street Journal, "They have the lowest bed-to-population ratio of any of the boroughs. It could precipitate a public-health crisis if one of them were to go down." more ›

Yesterday's closing of St. Vincent's hospital could put an end to home births in the city, as 22 midwives—seven of whom practiced home births—were left without a hospital. According to state law, midwives must partner with a doctor or hospital to practice, and St. Vincent's was the only hospital in the city that supported home births. One expectant mother told the Daily News, "Home birth is what I want. I don't even know what my options are now." more ›

St. Vincent's hospital officially closed at 8 a.m. today after a morning mass in the hospital chapel and a barbecue in the cafeteria. The closing has left 3,500 workers out of jobs and with few new prospects. One 56-year-old EMT told the Daily News, "This is a young man or young woman's job. I don't know what I'll do next." The workers are also worried about the health of the neighborhood. Ambulances have already been diverted across town to Beth Israel for many emergencies, and the FDNY said they would boost ambulance coverage by 15% on the West Side, but former employees say the services are still stretched too thin. more ›

There may be a lawsuit to keep St. Vincent's from closing, but the hospital has put one of its buildings on the market, with the NY Times noting it's "the first of many buildings in its valuable Greenwich Village real estate portfolio." The 180,000 square foot "Staff House"—it house 160 medical residents and other staff members in 178 apartments—is at 555 Sixth Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets. more ›

Yesterday, hundreds of people protested the closing of St. Vincent's, the Greenwich Village hospital whose financial troubles have caused its downfall. They carried a coffin that said "No ER = DOA" from 25th Street and 9th Avenue to the hospital at 7th Avenue and 12th Street while demonstrators said, "Many people are going to die because of this," and "Save our hospital!" while recounting how the hospital saved their lives. more ›

Yetta Kurland, a civil rights lawyer who ran an unsuccessful challenge for Council Speaker Quinn's seat last year, has filed a lawsuit to keep St. Vincent's Hospital open. According to NY1, Kurland "says closing the hospital violates New York State health laws" and that "the state Health Department has not yet approved St. Vincent's closure plan." She also wants a look at St. Vincent's financials, "The issue should be framed as to why St Vincent's is so rapidly doing this without any kind of public comment, and without any kind of disclosure, or transparency." However, the state says it's given St. Vincent's approval on its wind-down plans. On Monday, St. Vincent's laid off 1,000 workers and the psychiatry service in the ER was "placed on permanent diversion" yesterday. more ›

Now that St. Vincent's hospital has delivered its last baby and is closing for good, displaced Greenwich Village patients have been flooding Beth Israel hospital across town. According to the Daily News, Beth Israel has seen a 25% increase in walk-in patients in the week since St. Vincent's shut down, and daily admissions are at an all time high. Beth Israel also got hit with twice their average number of ambulances two days after St. Vincent's stopped accepting them. more ›

St. Vincent's Hospital, which is winding down its operations before it closes for good, delivered its last baby. Abigail Jancu was born at 4:58 a.m. yesterday morning, about 18 hours after parents Anastasia and Robert Juncu checked into the hospital. Their midwife called to let them know they would need to come on Wednesday at 9 a.m. to deliver the baby. Robert Jancu told City Room, "They said, if you come here early in the morning, we’ll get you in, but we’re closing down." more ›

Yesterday, St. Vincent's Hospital announced, "We have issued termination (WARN) notices to all employees of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan today as required by state and federal law. The action came after the Board of Saint Vincent’s voted to close the hospital’s inpatient services and to seek a transfer of some or all of the outpatient services, after an effort to save the financially troubled 160-year old institution. Employees jobs will end based upon the needs of the hospital as it moves forward with an orderly and safe wind down of operations. The Board and management are extremely grateful for the dedication and professionalism of all St. Vincent employees, some of whom have been with us for decades, during this very difficult process." more ›

The demise of Greenwich Village hospital St. Vincent's is forcing many patients to scramble for new facilities. And one group of patients—pregnant women—is having a tough time as their due dates draw nearer Carline Moise, who is 8 months along, told the Post that she "was handed her medical chart -- along with recommendations for a new obstetrician -- and shown the door last week." Her doctor doesn't have privileges at another hospital, so now she has "no choice. I'm going to shop around," (so far, no doctors/hospitals have agreed to take her on). And did you know that St. Vincent's ER treated survivors of the Titanic? more ›

Yesterday, St. Vincent's announced that starting today, "St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan emergency department, in coordination with the NYS Department of Health and FDNY EMS, will be placed on permanent diversion of ambulances for all services except for behavioral health. The ED will remain fully functional with the ability to treat and admit all walk-in patients as needed.” Instead, ambulances will take patients to Beth-Israel, Roosevelt, NY Downtown or Bellevue. more ›

The board of directors of St. Vincent's Medical Centers decided to close its Greenwich Village location, after months of trying to find a way to stay afloat. According to a press release (see below), all "inpatient services including all acute, rehab, and behavioral health" will be closed, but "the other facilities and programs"—like its Cancer Center and the HIV/AIDS Center—"of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers will continue as the organization seeks new sponsorship to operate them as continuing service providers." more ›

Yesterday, Mt. Sinai announced that it would not enter a partnership with the struggling St. Vincent's Hospital, leading St. Vincent's to say, "Our board will be in discussions with our management, legal and financial advisers to quickly access our strategic options moving forward." The NY Times reports that the hospital had been set to declare bankruptcy last month, but emergency loans from the state and GE helped keep it afloat as it tried to find a partner. But now, "The hospital, which is running at a deficit of $7 million to $10 million a month, has spent nearly all that money, and with Albany deep in its own financial trouble, more state money is unlikely, people close to the process said on Thursday." more ›

In what's beginning to look like life support, St. Vincent's Hospital is getting another $6 million bail out from the state and banks. This time GE Capital and TD Bank have offered $5 million with the State Assembly chipping in another $1 million, says Gov. Paterson's office. Once again the Greenwich Village medical facility has been given a month to restructure its $700 million debt and look for a solution, but since the last cash infusion it hasn't come up with much: "They're not exactly sure how that's going to happen at this point, but I think they are working very hard," Randi Hoffman, spokesperson for the New York State Nurses Association told WNYC. Already the hospital has laid off 300 employees and handed pay cuts to the rest. more ›

After a week's deliberation union workers at the twice-bailed out St. Vincent's voted to take a ten percent pay cut while the hospital tries to revive itself. "In today’s difficult economic climate for working families, our members’ vote to accept the wage reduction is a testament to how committed they are to the work they do, their passion in providing quality care and their dedication to the patient community they serve. We salute their courageous sacrifice to keep St. Vincent’s hospital open," the union said. Still, the decrease agreed to by the union is half or less of those handed to non-union employees last week: doctors' salaries were slashed by 20 percent and executive pay rates were scaled back 25 percent. more ›

Even with another $6 million bail-out from the state and lenders, the prognosis for St. Vincent’s is not sunny. This week the hospital—which is $700 million in debt and losing more—laid off over 300 employees including 32 doctors. A 38-year-old technician and air-conditioning engineer who’d worked at the hospital for 18 months, was one of the unlucky set. “They gave me a letter,” he told the NY Times, adding that he felt sorry not only for himself, but because “there’s a lot of history here.” In a statement, the vice-chair of the board of directors, said that those losing their jobs “have done absolutely nothing wrong.” more ›

So St. Vincent's isn't closing yet, but it is losing many of its major functions. Last week it closed its outpatient HIV and mental health clinics and with a $6 million injection from the state and other lenders—meant to hold the hospital over until the end of the month while it tries again to restructure its debt—the facility will lose two-thirds of its beds. To save St. Vincent's "shared sacrifices" will be necessary from all parties, said Governor Paterson. He and other officials are frustrated that unions aren't giving an inch—even faced with the hospital's $700 million debt and $5 million to $10 million monthly losses. Hospital officials told the Daily News the no-interest loan will give them "the time we need to put together a potential plan for the future of St. Vincent's." more ›

St. Vincent's, the money-sick Greenwich Village hospital whose looming closure has had the neighborhood up in arms, may get some medicine from the state of New York. According to NY1, Gov. David Paterson is authorizing $6 million in funds, directed from a state-supervised hospital restructuring program. "This is a dire situation, but I don't want to see this hospital close unless every available means has been employed," he said. The mini-bail out is a good start, but still just a drop in the ocean of St. Vincent's $700 million debt. more ›

Greenwich Village's financially ailing hospital has a potential buyer, but West Side politicians are calling the proposed deal "unacceptable." A takeover by Continuum Health Partners would mean a significant scaling down of St. Vincent's facilities, especially its ER, and would turn the city's last Catholic general hospital into a meager outpatient facility. Depending on how Continuum was able to re-structure St. Vincent's giant debt—estimated at $700 million—it might even opt to sell the valuable property instead of taking on its thousands of patients. more ›