Mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio was arrested Wednesday morning protesting against the closure of Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital Wednesday.
De Blasio, City Councilman Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn), top officials at the New York State Nurses Association and several nurses and aides were arrested after refusing to move from in front of the State University of New York’s midtown offices. Fifteen people were arrested, organizers said.
“We’re going to lose Long Island College Hospital in a matter of weeks if we don’t act now … People are going to be much sicker in this city if we keep losing hospitals,” de Blasio said as he was led away in handcuffs. “This is about fighting for our hospitals. We have to save them.”
The protesters came to deliver 7,000 petitions to officials at SUNY, which operates LICH, demanding they keep the hospital open. The hospital is deep in debt and threatened with closure, and SUNY has refused to accept ambulances at its emergency room or to admit new patients.
Before the arrests, the protesters attempted to confront SUNY officials with their demands.
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“Our communities depend on Long Island College Hospital,” Levin said as he handed over the petitions to a SUNY rep. “We will not go away.”
De Blasio said the crowd would not leave without answers. “We’re losing this hospital as we speak. People in the neighborhood know. Facilities of the hospital are being closed down day by day. Patients are being turned away,” he said. “Can you tell us now that SUNY will tell us the truth, will stop its efforts to close Long Island College Hospital? Because if you can’t tell us that we’re not going anywhere.”
The woman sent down by SUNY said she had no comment, and an officer from the university police department on a bullhorn ordered the group to leave or be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. “If you refuse to leave you will be placed under arrest,” he said.
