Neighbors Fear Lenox Hill Hospital Expansion

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Concerned Lenox Hill residents have united to oppose Lenox Hill Hospital's ambitious expansion plan that would convert a portion of its Upper East Side campus into a market-rate condominium complex to fund additional medical facilities.

The newly formed "Committee to Protect Our Lenox Hill Neighborhood" sent a letter this week to executives for Northwell Health — the healthcare company that operates Lenox Hill Hospital — voicing outrage over the expansion's "unacceptable" size and the environmental hazards brought on by a decade-long construction project.

"We demand that you withdraw your proposal and go back to the drawing board to develop one that is more appropriate for the community," the letter reads.

The committee claims that the 10-year construction timeline for the project "seems to show no concern regarding the onslaught of pollutants that this massive project will release into a densely populated residential neighborhood."

The concerned residents warned that neighborhood children and seniors will be put at increased risk of adverse health effects due to the construction.

Lenox Hill Hospital presented an early look at its expansion plans during a March Community Board 7 meeting, revealing a project that would nearly double the facility's size from 780,000 square feet to 1.3 million square feet.

The plan also includes the construction of a 200-unit, market-rate residential facility that may require a zoning variance. During the presentation representatives for Lenox Hill said that the plan does not include affordable housing because the residential building will fund the expanded medical campus.

A spokesman for Northwell Health said that the project is still in the early stages and that community concerns with the expansion will be discussed.

"We thank the Lenox Hill community for their continued feedback on our comprehensive renewal plan" the Northwell Health spokesperson said in a statement. "We are still in the very early stages in the planning and approval process and we are committed to open communication and working collaboratively with the Upper East Side and citywide communities as we thoughtfully explore ways to preserve the highest possible standard of care for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers for generations to come."

The spokesman added that Northwell Health plans to host "a series of working groups" in the coming months to discuss the expansion plan with neighborhood residents and solicit feedback.

Despite the promise for collaboration, it appears Northwell Health and the Committee to Protect Our Lenox Hill Neighborhood may have one fundamental disagreement — whether an expansion at Lenox Hill is even necessary.

At one point in its letter, the committee states: "we all know that there exists no need for additional hospital beds on the Upper East Side, which is already home to numerous high-quality hospitals and specialty medical facilities that are the envy of our outer borough neighbors."

Lenox Hill's expansion plan does not include the addition of hospital beds to its campus, a Northwell Health spokesman said. Instead, the 475 beds on the campus will be converted to single rooms for patients.

The spokesman described the facility's current state as: "10 separate, aging buildings that are not configured and equipped to effectively deliver the next generation of care."