State Introduces 'Rivington Act' to Prevent Nursing Home Scandal Statewide

NEW YORK, NY — State elected officials announced on Friday the proposal of the "Rivington Act," a state bill that would create more transparency and stronger protections for local nursing homes.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Assembly Democratic nominee Yuh-line Niou and state Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, who represents much of Brooklyn, introduced the state bill that's meant to prevent the Rivington scandal from happening again in the state of New York.

The New York City mayor's office infuriated community members earlier this year when it approved deed restriction waivers for the Rivington House nursing home and care facility in the Lower East Side. This removal of the deed restrictions by the government in exchange for $16 million paved the way for the owners to sell the nursing home to luxury condo developers.

The "Rivington Act" would create a more transparent process when nursing homes are in trouble by requiring the State Department of Health to:

1. Release a public report no more than 30 days after any application for a nursing home closure, including the impacts of the potential closure.
2. Reject any closure application that does not meet the community's health needs.
3. Consider community recommendations and talk with local elected officials before approving a nursing home's closure.
4. Make a copy available online of the complete final approved closure plan and describe the changes made to the plan after the community got involved.

"The loss of Rivington House betrayed our essential responsibility to provide quality care for seniors and in the process destroyed an important public health facility for the neighborhood," Niou said in a statement. "The Rivington Act will be a major step forward for protecting local communities by ensuring that community needs and input are never ignored again in the name of political expediency.

"The Rivington Act will strengthen protections and mandate that when closures do occur, they are done in the light of day, with community input so that the residents, their families and the public can have confidence that the affected individuals' healthcare needs can be met," Simon said in a statement.

The "Rivington Act" is based on the Local Input in Community Healthcare Act by Simon and Squadron, which dictates similar steps to the state when dealing with at-risk hospitals.

Niou, should she win in November as expected, would represent the Lower East Side where Rivington House is located. Squadron's district covers much of Lower Manhattan, including the Lower East Side, and the Brooklyn waterfront.

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