Local pols on Sunday called on state officials to investigate the planned closing of Peninsula Hospital in Queens.
During a protest that drew dozens of hospital workers and Rockaways residents, State Sen. Malcolm Smith urged Health Commissioner Nirav Shah not to approve the closing plan for the century-old Far Rockaway hospital without conducting a formal investigation of its finances first.
“The Rockaways cannot afford for Peninsula to not be there,” said Smith (D-Queens), noting its emergency room provides care for more than 30,000 patients per year.
At the rally outside the state Health Department’s office in Lower Manhattan, protestors chanted, “Keep the hospital open” and waved signs saying, “Rockaway Needs Peninsula” and “Investigate Before Closing.”
Smith, who also called on state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Controller Thomas DiNapoli to probe the planned closing, described a meeting last June with the hospital’s president, Robert Levine.
“We were told it was not in danger of closing,” Smith recalled.
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Rockaway does need Peninsula. The hopsital just needs to be managed better, not closed down. The health dept is probably closed on Sundays so I don’t think that rally made much of a difference.