City Council To Host Final Public Hearing On Controversial UES Hospital Development — See When

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — New Yorkers will have one last chance to testify on the controversial plan to rezone a portion of East 77th Street and expand Northwell's Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side later this month.

On Wednesday, July 16, beginning at 11 a.m., the City Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a public hearing in the City Hall Council Chambers.

This final public hearing is the most critical one yet, as the city council will later vote on whether to approve the medical center's reconstruction and expansion.

A decision by the City Council is final unless the Mayor vetoes it. The Council, with a two-thirds majority, can override the Mayor's veto.

This public hearing will take place just two weeks after the City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve the plans for the hospital.

"We have a collective responsibility here to ensure the city's healthcare infrastructure is able to meet evolving needs, provide excellent care and remain competitive to attract and retain talent," Daniel Garodnick, the chair of the City Planning Commission, said before casting his vote in favor of the plan on July 2.

In one version of the construction plans, the building would rise 436 feet over Lexington Avenue but taper down to 195 feet on East 77th Street and East 76th Street. In another, newer plan, the building would come to 395 feet over Lexington Avenue, and drop down to 360 feet over the side streets.

With either plan, the construction would take around nine years and transform all patient rooms into single-bed rooms, update operating rooms, and add a new center specifically for labor and delivery patients, hospital officials said.

"We’re proud of the significant improvements made through community engagement, including reduced building heights, accelerated construction timelines and expanded neighborhood partnerships, and we remain committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to bring this essential project to life," a spokesperson for the hospital told Patch.

Developers are coming to the end of the mandatory public review process for the plan, which kicked off in early April, with Community Board 8 voting 23-15 with two abstentions to reject Northwell's proposal to build extra stories and modernize many parts of the hospital on East 77th Street between Lexington and Park avenues.

"What they're asking to do is astronomical," Stacy Krusch, a member of Committee to Protect Our Lenox Hill Neighborhood, told Patch at the Community Board 8 hearing. "It's the size of a Midtown office building in a residential neighborhood, and, I mean, there's no one who is not for renovating and modernizing the hospital, but they need to do it within their existing zoning. Zoning should be sacrosanct."

After the July 16 public hearing, the City Council will have until Aug. 21 to vote on the plan. To see more details about the upcoming hearing, click here.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.