Commissioners deeply divided in their responses to proposed new hospital. In the most recent chapter of St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center’s process to gain approval for a consolidated, modern hospital, Landmarks met on December 16, 2008, to discuss the proposed new building. A month earlier, Landmarks had approved the demolition of the 1964 O’Toole building on Seventh Avenue between West 12th and West 13th Streets, clearing the way for construction of a new hospital on the site. 5 CityLand 158 (Nov. 15, 2008).

Landmarks Chair Robert B. Tierney allowed St. Vincent’s the opportunity to summarize the proposal, describe the process by which it reached its current design, and respond to public testimony from the previous hearing. Attorney Shelly Friedman testified that the new building would “truly be a hospital of the future” and would not require a new structure after 30 years.  Bernadette Kingham-Bez, senior vice-president of St. Vincent’s, claimed the new hospital would be built to “evolve with the health care needs of the future.” (more…)