Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

NY Methodist Hospital Revising Plans for Controversial Expansion

By Leslie Albrecht | December 13, 2013 10:45am
 The hospital will present "detailed changes" to its expansion design in January.
NY Methodist Hospital Revising Plans for Controversial Expansion
View Full Caption

PARK SLOPE — New York Methodist Hospital is retooling its controversial expansion plan after locals complained that the massive facility would be a "disaster" for the neighborhood.

The hospital will present "detailed changes" to its proposed 8-story outpatient center at a public meeting in January, Community Board 6 chairman Daniel Kummer announced this week.

Community Board 6 was expected to vote this week on the zoning variances the hospital needs for the building, which would span most of the block between Seventh and Eighth avenues and Fifth and Sixth streets. The board's land use committee rejected the zoning requests after a marathon public hearing in November, where residents slammed the expansion.

After that contentious hearing, hospital officials told Community Board 6 leaders they would make tweaks to the project, Kummer said. On Jan. 6, hospital representatives are expected to present revised designs, as well as specific information about how the development would affect traffic, Kummer said.

New York Methodist officials are also expected to make a detailed case explaining the need for the new facility, which would bring an estimated 100,000 new patients to the neighborhood.

The community board's role in the expansion is only advisory. The city's Board of Standards and Appeals makes the final decision on whether to grant the zoning variances.