Delay Approval of the Rudin, North Shore LIJ Condo Deal

For: The Coalition For A New Village Hospital

Media Contact: Steven Greene

For Immediate Release

Delay Approval of the Rudin, North Shore LIJ Condo Deal

New York, NY – April 7, 2011 – The Coalition for A New Village Hospital called on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court today to delay approval of the proposed sale of former St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center site to RSV LLC, an affiliate of Rudin Management.

Said Yetta Kurland of the 7,000 member Coalition, “While recent court decisions prevent us from filing objections to the proposed sale of the St. Vincent’s property to the Rudin Management Company, we stand firm in our conviction that this community is in urgent need of a full-service emergency room and in-patient hospital. The current plan offered by Rudin Management and North Shore-LIJ falls far short of that goal. “

On April 6, The Southern District Court reaffirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision to bar attorneys for the Coalition from “taking any actions and otherwise proceeding in furtherance of or in connection with” related to the allegations in their earlier state court action.

Said Dr. David Kaufman, “We are fully prepared to work with Rudin Management and North Shore-LIJ Group or any other qualified buyer toward the realization of a hospital. If necessary, it would be in the best interests of the community and the creditors to re-open bidding to additional qualified buyers committed to a new hospital.”

On March 10, the Rudin Management firm announced they had partnered with North Shore-LIJ to with plans to build a walk-in emergency facility and hundreds of luxury apartments in place of the full service in-patient hospital. Community members have protested the plans citing a number of health concerns and efforts by other jurisdictions that already offer free standing emergency rooms to introduce legislation banning them because of these concerns as well as exorbitant costs associated such facilities.

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