The future of the building and the hospital on the NE corner of Second Avenue and 13th Street has been in doubt since they were acquired by Mount Sinai Health System. (In 2013, following the merger of Continuum Health Partners, Inc. with The Mount Sinai Medical Center, the hospital was officially renamed the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.)
As organizers previously noted:
In late 2022, Mount Sinai Beth-Israel, the parent corporation of the 200-year-old New York Eye and Ear Infirmary that serves people with hearing and vision disabilities, applied before the Public Health and Health Planning Council to merge operating certificates with the Infirmary — a tactic that would enable MSBI to more easily move services out of the site and around the city, paving the way for a sale of the historic Infirmary.
The Infirmary owns two buildings here — 14th Street and Second Avenue and 13th Street and Second Avenue — and the vacant lot on 13th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Real-estate insiders have said the parcel could fetch upwards of $70 million for some new development.
Those gathered today will call for preserving the hospital, said to be the oldest specialized hospital in the Western Hemisphere, and its historic building, the ribbon cutting for which was performed by Hellen Keller.
Another piece of trivia: The building on Second Avenue and 13th Street served as a setting in "The Godfather," in which Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) moves his father's hospital bed, saving him from a possible assassination attempt...
15 comments:
Here comes Village Preservation coming to landmark every single old building. Theres no reason that this should be landmarked. This is ridiculous.
There goes another real estate troll. Village Preservation is an excellent organization and I fully support their efforts to save the few beautiful buildings they manage to from the clutch of predatory real estate developers. The power of the real estate industry in this city is obscene since they are contribute more than any other industry to politicians and the Real Estate Board of NY's powerful lobbyists write the laws and rule.
Agree 100% We need new updated buildings and more housing.
So far removed from reality. I want my children to be able to afford to live in NYC. This is simple supply and demand. By preventing new housing from being built you are benefiting already existing real estate owners.
EV Grieve, Good on you for this beautifully done post and bringing attention to this extremely important cause. The threatened loss of the Infirmary, the service it's providing, the beautiful building (and its architectural importance) for what? - another luxury condo? - is Flat Out Outrageous. May the LPC be brave and do its job to protect it. Bravo to the coalition (Village Preservation and others) that organized today's event. And to NYC Public Advocate Jumayne Williams, NYC Councilperson Christopher Marte, and NY State Senator Kristen Gonzalez for showing up there today and speaking so strongly in favor of saving the NYEEI. And historic preservation. - Jeanne K
Agreed; the RE industry's position is: "If you can't afford the rents, you need to leave the city and make room for those who can."
They also have no sentimentality for those who've accomplished great things in the past—because after all, the past is past—unless it's One Of Their Own.
Agreed. Preserve the hospital.
I had my tonsils removed there 65 years ago. Overnight stay, plus yummy ice cream.
@8:38am: What's ridiculous here is your comment. If you want to live somewhere that has only modern and new buildings, then you need to change where you live.
@12:27 PM: You write: "I want my children to be able to afford to live in NYC." So the entire issue is only about you and what you want?! Wow, the word "entitlement" doesn't begin to cover your egotism.
If you want your children to be able to afford NYC, make sure that each of your kids has a high-paying career. Or else make sure they qualify for NYCHA housing.
@1:15pm: Agree with you completely, and a big THANK YOU to Grieve for keeping the spotlight on this literally irreplaceable building, which has graced that location for all this time.
IMO, Mt. Sinai is not in the medical business - it's now firmly in the Real Estate business.
No doubt the style of old world building gives the EV character and noteworthy (but really rather meaningless) that it's the oldest specialized hospital of its kind but at the end of the day it's hardly a state of art medical facility. Mt Sinai is certainly not going to cough up the money for a gut renovation. The best use would be housing but again who is going to pay $70mil, and a least that much, to turn it in housing which would have to be "luxury" units which in turn would
freak out the preservationist contingent. The City's not going to do shit. The money's not there. Unless some billionaire scoops it up looks like this one is heading to the chopping block.
@Anonymous 5:54 PM—Wholeheartedly agree; Mount Sinai is all about real estate. Now that some pesky old hospitals—Cabrini, St. Vincent's—are out of the running, they can get to work trashing and/or assimilating the others.
(I hope thst even though I forgot to use the [sarcasm] tag, the comment wasn't meant seriously.)
Whoever is whining about beautiful buildings being preserved needs to leave town. There’s a corporate generic world for people like that, who have no taste.
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