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New TV Ad Slams Christine Quinn for Role in St. Vincent's Hospital Closure

By Andrea Swalec | April 24, 2013 1:14pm

MANHATTAN — A new television ad debuting Wednesday claims St. Vincent's Hospital couldn't have been closed without the support of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn while urging voters to opt for another mayoral candidate.

Released by the political committee New York City Is Not for Sale, the ad called "Nowhere to Go" criticizes Quinn for supporting the zoning change that allowed the ailing Greenwich Village hospital to be redeveloped into luxury condos.

"When Christine Quinn allows the things that are most important to New Yorkers to disappear, how can you support her for mayor?" a voice in the ad asks over images of an NYU Langone Medical Center ambulance and a gurney being raced through a hospital hallway.

This is the second TV ad bought by New York Is Not for Sale, which was co-founded by communication workers union Local 1180 president Arthur Cheliotes, Hugo Neu Corporation CEO Wendy Kelman Neu, and the group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets.

“Today’s new ad calls attention to a community where residents have nowhere to go in the event of an emergency or health crisis," Cheliotes said in a statement. "Christine Quinn played an integral role in letting St. Vincent’s disappear and we cannot support a mayor who would let her donors dictate development at the sacrifice of our communities.”

The ad claims Quinn took $59,400 from Rudin Management Company in 2007, but city Campaign Finance Board records show she received half that amount, $29,700, from its executives.

A spokesman for Quinn's mayoral campaign declined to comment on the ad.

Poll results released earlier this month placed the City Council speaker in the lead to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg and trailed by ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner.