The mayor’s costly bid to keep healthcare services operating in Cobble Hill took another hit Wednesday, after a second real estate firm saw its tentative deal with SUNY fall apart.
University officials said they reached an impasse over The Peebles Corporation’s $260 million plan to build a mixture of housing and medical services on the Long Island College Hospital site after the firm began adding caveats to its initial plan.
“Unfortunately, several portions of the Peebles proposal have dramatically changed, including the possibility of long delays in the manner and method in which health care will be provided at the site,” said SUNY spokesman David Doyle.
“Additionally, Peebles is seeking a cost-sharing agreement in which taxpayers would be partially responsible for environmental remediation,” added Doyle, who characterized that portion of the proposal as “unacceptable.”
SUNY officials put their total liabilities related to the hospital at $500 million, including more than a year of operational losses of $13 million per month while the community – led by then-public advocate Bill de Blasio – fought to keep services running.
The health and hospital workers’ union – local 1199 of SEIU – was the first and largest union to back de Blasio’s mayoral bid.
In a letter to SUNY, a lawyer for The Peebles Corporation “forcefully” disputed the university’s contention that negotiations had reached an impasse.
Peebles officials identified five outstanding issues that they believed could be hammered out easily with further talks.
“We have been extremely responsive to community needs and involvement, as well as to SUNY’s concerns, and have made an extraordinary commitment of resources… to achieve a seamless and uninterrupted operation of the emergency department at LICH,” reads the May 27th letter.
With Peebles out, the third highest-rated bidder – NYU Langone Medical Center – now has 30 days to hammer out a deal to revive the ailing medical center.
Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris was a former executive at Langone.
The center teamed up with Fortis Property Group and Lutheran Healthcare for its $240 million proposal.
Months after the mayor declared a “historic” victory with the initial deal to preserve healthcare at LICH, the hospital has essentially shuttered other than a free-standing emergency unit.
That initial deal with Brooklyn Health Partners – the highest-rated bidder in a bumpy process that’s been overseen by a Brooklyn judge – was dumped earlier this month.