(
)
Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio got himself cuffed and tossed into a police wagon yesterday at a Midtown protest over SUNY Downstate’s closing of Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital.
Fellow Democratic mayoral contenders John Liu and Anthony Weiner, meanwhile, took a more laid-back approach, showing up for the rally but steering clear of any civil disobedience — or cuffs.
A total of 15 protesters were arrested — including de Blasio and Brooklyn Councilman Stephen Levin — and charged with disorderly conduct, cops said, for blocking SUNY Downstate’s doors.
“Some people’s schedules don’t permit getting arrested in the middle of the day. I made sure to clear my schedule for the afternoon,” said Levin.
SUNY Downstate wants to shutter the 506-bed Cobble Hill hospital — which it said loses $4 million a month — but a lawsuit filed by doctor and nurse groups has held up the closure.
“We have to stop our hospital from foreclosing!” shouted de Blasio as he was loaded into a police van, his hands cuffed with zip-ties.
“John attended the rally this morning,” a Liu campaign spokesman said, “but did not cross the line of breaking the law.”
There is a court order that requires SUNY to maintain operations at LICH, but SUNY has diverted ambulances away from the struggling hospital, angering hospital workers and community members.
“I can’t believe that this is happening! The judge gave strict orders, and they ignore it,” said Sonia Taylor, a nurse at LICH for 30 years.
“There are lives on the line,” said Joyce Gallagher, 66, a Midwood retiree. “I’ve been there for two emergencies. My husband was there for a heart attack and later cancer.”