Controversial UES Hospital Development Voted On By Patch Readers: What You Decided

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The controversial plan to rezone East 77th Street and expand Lenox Hill Hospital will be voted on by the City Council Wednesday, but Patch readers did it first in our survey.

Of the 1,173 readers who took the survey, 71 percent (833 votes) said they do not support the plan, and 19.78 percent (232 votes) said they do support the plan.

The other roughly 10 percent of voters wrote their own responses, many of which said they do support some form of construction, but that the current plan will be too much of a burden on the neighborhood.

Editor's note: To respond to the survey, only one vote per IP address was allowed. Patch did not collect any demographic data from the voters, so analysis is limited. Just enjoy the ride.

"The hospital facility is in need of improvement, but the plan should be scaled down further to lessen the impact on the neighborhood," one vote reads.

Other voters made creative suggestions to meet in the middle.

"If they made it aesthetically more pleasing it might be ok. Right now, looks like a big block that will shade the whole neighborhood," one voter wrote.

"They should develop Lenox Hill Hospital at the old Beth Israel site on 17th Street downtown where there is a need for more beds," another vote reads.

Read the whole survey below.

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.

Developers are coming to the end of the mandatory public review process for the plan, which kicked off in early April and included a series of votes and public hearings.

So far, the City Planning Commission and the Manhattan Borough President have voted in favor of the plan, and Community Board 8 voted 23-15 with two abstentions to reject Northwell's proposal.

Starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday, the Council's Committee on Land Use and the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will vote on the plan.

After the two committees vote on Wednesday, all 51 members of City Council will vote on it on Aug. 14.

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.

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