Contested Harlem Medical Clinic Moving Forward, Mt. Sinai Says

HARLEM, NY — The contested medical clinic that stoked intense opposition in Harlem when it was first announced years ago is pushing ahead, as some neighbors remain skeptical of the project even after its most controversial elements were removed.

After Mount Sinai Hospital announced the new facility on West 124th Street in 2018, neighbors rose up against it, saying the area was already "overburdened" with high numbers of methadone clinics that gave rise to public drug use and filthy streets.

The facility, being built in a former parking garage near Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard, sparked the formation of the Greater Harlem Coalition — a group that has used data to show that Harlem hosts a disproportionate number of substance-use clinics compared to other parts of the city.

The group won a promise from Mount Sinai to remove all substance abuse services from the clinic, on top of a previous commitment to include no opioid treatments, including methadone, THE CITY reported in 2019.

Instead, the outpatient clinic will offer primary care, specialty care and behavior health treatment to adults, children and adolescents who hail from Harlem and Upper Manhattan, according to Mount Sinai.

In recent months, things have gone quiet, with coalition members saying they have heard little from Mount Sinai as construction continues ahead of the stated late-2021 opening date.

Last week, however, the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield announced it had arranged for a $44 million loan to help finance construction, signaling that work has not slowed.

A Mount Sinai spokesperson had no information about when the clinic would open, but offered more details about its services this week, saying it would focus on patients with chronic medical conditions — especially those with HIV/AIDS and members of the LGBTQ community.

"We have met extensively with community members and organizations in East and Central Harlem — including the Greater Harlem Coalition — and as a result we took steps to modify the services we are bringing to this new facility to ensure that the needs of the entire community are met," spokesperson Lucia Lee said. "We look forward to continuing to work with the community and to share our plan as it is finalized."

Nia Bediako, a coalition leader who lives nearby and has long opposed the clinic, told Patch she would accept it if it abides by Mount Sinai's stated uses — but still sounded distrustful.

"We just are very doubtful," Bediako said this week. "Because for the past three years their stories have changed repeatedly."