It’s another crazy charge from the MTA.
Magnetism caused by the subway’s high currents is causing a costly headache for the new operator of a former St. Vincent’s Hospital structure in the West Village.
North Shore-LIJ is installing an anti-magnetism system inside the O’Toole building as part of its $100 million rehabilitation of the Seventh Avenue structure.
It will open as an ER facility in June 2014. But before the hospital installs MRI scanners, it has to combat magnetic fields that could distort image results.
Expert and consultant Dr. Richard Crepeau says the kooky current is caused by the subway lines near West 14th Street magnetizing the property’s steel columns.
“You have buried power lines that carry very high currents, which generate magnetic fields,” Crepeau told The Post. “Every time [the trains] stop and start, they’re changing their current.”
Crepeau said North Shore plans to battle the pesky energy by installing iron “magnetic shielding” inside the walls. Hospital spokesperson Terry Lynam would only say the job will cost “tens of thousands of dollars.”
A developer transformed the remaining St. Vincent’s buildings into a luxury condo complex, where Rosie O’Donnell just put her penthouse on the market for $10.95 million.