Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Reports: Mount Sinai Beth Israel will close on March 26 after judge dismisses lawsuit

Following a protracted legal tussle, the end is near now for Mount Sinai Beth Israel. 

After a state Supreme Court judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block the facility's closure, Mount Sinai Beth Israel leadership announced a March 26 closing date, according to published reports. (Politico's Maya Kaufman also shared the date in an X post last evening.)

As Gothamist and Crain's reported, Judge Jeffrey Pearlman tossed the lawsuit filed in August by a community coalition challenging the closing. 

As previously reported, Mount Sinai must operate a new 24/7 urgent care center near the hospital on First Avenue at 16th Street for at least three months and reach an agreement with New York City Health + Hospitals to invest in expanding Bellevue Hospital's emergency room and psychiatric emergency department. 

In an employee memo shared with Becker's"This date will allow us to ramp down the facility in a manner that is seamless and safe for patients and staff," said Elizabeth Sellman, president and COO of Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

Arthur Schwartz, the coalition's pro-bono lawyer, said he would appeal the decision and seek a new stay on the closure within 24 hours, per Gothamist. 

Reactions included... Mount Sinai officials have said Beth Israel lost $1 billion in the last decade, with dwindling cash reserves and reduced bed counts.

Beth Israel was founded 143 years ago on the Lower East Side and moved to its current location on 16th Street and First Avenue in 1929.

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