(NOTE: The following was written, and submitted by BPW)

At a special meeting of the governing body of Maimonides Medical Center—the Board of Trustees, — representatives of the Boro-Park West Community Association (BPW) made a final effort to forge a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the Hospital and the surrounding Jewish community.

BPW is outraged at the latest real estate acquisitions by the Hospital in the heart of the residential area, which, will move the Hospital’s campus a full block further into the main residential area.

“The Hospital has crossed a red line with these two new real estate purchases on 46th and 47th Streets,” said Rabbi William Handler of BPW. “If they continue with their plans to develop these parcels into Medical offices and clinics, they will have decisively tipped the balance of the neighborhood towards industrial development.

“We will no longer have a residential neighborhood, where we can enjoy affordable housing and a normal lifestyle, as before. We will have to face serious pollution, noise, and parking problems.”

The meeting was attended by Maimonides Board members Chaim Leshkowitz, Peter Rebenwurzel, Andrew Cohen, and Daniel Nelson. Maimonides Vice Presidents Derek Goins and Eric Scalettar represented the Hospital’s executive staff.

Mr. Leshkowitz explained that the Hospital needed to expand to serve the expanded needs of the community, but Robert Katz of BPW countered that the Hospital had more than enough underutilized space on its existing campus to handle such needs.

Messrs Leshkowitz and Nelson promised to bring the community’s concerns before the entire Board of Trustees, who will give the issue serious consideration.

(As noted above, this was written, and submitted by BPW)