Douglas Jablon, Vice President Maimonides Medical Center (MMC), has announced that MMC President/CEO Pamela S. Brier and her staff will meet with Boro Park West (BPW) community leaders to discuss the Hospital’s neighborhood development Master Plan.
Local leaders are seriously concerned that MMC’s recent acquisition of three properties in the heart of the residential area may lead to the destabilization of the community. “Maimonides City” is already an overwhelming presence in BPW.
Previously, MMC’s Senior Vice President, Derek Goins, claimed that he no longer converts residential housing for Hospital use.
However, Rabbi William Handler, a community leader, contradicted that claim: “MMC has recently purchased a four-story residential building in the heart of BPW on 46th Street, two block away from the Hospital’s main building on 48th Street. They have also attempted (unsuccessfully) to purchase a three-story brownstone on Fort Hamilton Parkway, including a community synagogue.
“Maimonides has been blind to the neighborhood impact of their real estate operations in BPW. They have operated like a bull in a china shop. We hope that this forthcoming meeting heralds a change in attitude by the Hospital administration.”
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9 Responses
Please explain. If Maimonides does NOT need the properties for hospital/doctor’s offices, what do they do with the properties? If they do need the properties for offices, in order to give the area’s residents better quality medical care, why complain?
Finally Maimonides is doing something.
To Torah Tziva Lonu:
Maimonides needs the properties to further its goals of becoming a major medical facility for all of New York City, not for the Boro Park community.
They are expanding by destroying the local community by grabbing local property that would otherwise be used to alleviate the acute housing shortage, using unlimited Government funds to compete with local residents.
MMC has adequate facilities to service BP and surrounding neighborhoods. MMC is trying to complete with the various “health systems” in NYC to attract patients from other parts of the city and the surrounding areas. To their credit, they are willing to sit down and talk.
To # 1 “torahtzivalanu”;
it’s called “mimo nafshach”.
they are buying property for the same reason another mosad is buying property in lakewood — its a good investment (except that the lakewood mosad is really a legal fiction for the rosh yeshiva’s family — not necessarily the mosad itself), but thats ok.
by the way — whats the “community synagogue”? — the chuster shtible? that shul has a tremendous z’chut for all the tefillot, mi sheberach’s, and girl namings held there because its the “closest” to the hospital!
dear “medinatHayam:
Boy, are you ignorant and nasty.
First, you attack Lakewood Yeshiva by making a comparison to the Maimonides situation that doesn’t even come close to reality.
How many Yidden is Lakewood kicking out of the neighborhood?
Then, you make fun of a ShteeBle, without knowing what you’re talking about.
..A real “Letz!”
to deepthinker:
i purposely didnt name names, but you are right — i meant lakwood yeshiva, who is an extensive property holder in ocean (and monmouth) county. perhaps they are holding it for investment purposes, but i know of many mosdot (and secular institutions, to be fair) that have extensive “investment” property holdings that are really the domain of the “principals” of the institution (and take advantage of the beni’s of holding it in a 501c3 or similar for various, or rather certain, reason(s)).
as for the “shteeBle”, i was in way way making fun — i daven there occassionally (its easier to park there than at shomer shabbas, though its still bp and hard to park), and they really do have a particularly tremendous “zchut” for the mi sheberachs, baby namings, and tefillot, coming from their particular location near maimomnides.
no mocking at all — you misinterpreted.
If it flies like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it is a duck!