SUNY Board Votes to Close LICH in Brooklyn

NEW YORK CITY-The money-losing Long Island College Hospital, part of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, appears fated to close its doors. Following weeks of community rallies to keep LICH open, the State University of New York‘s board of trustees voted Friday to support SUNY Downstate president John Williams in his recommendation to cease operations at the five-building, 200,000-square-foot LICH campus.

That could potentially lead to one of the largest redevelopment opportunities the northern part of the borough has seen. Crain’s New York Business quoted City Council Member Brad Lander, who represents the Cobble Hill neighborhood in which LICH is located, as saying he’s heard estimates of the complex’s worth that top $500 million, although Lander and other lawmakers oppose a sale. The 155-year old teaching hospital’s current site is zoned as of right for residential.