15 arrested at LICH protest: de Blasio, Levin, nurses put in cuffs
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Councilman Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn Heights) were among more than a dozen demonstrators arrested in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday during a protest against the closure of Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
The protesters, chanting “Hell no, we won’t go!” were arrested and cuffed outside the doors of the State University of New York’s (SUNY) College of Optometry.
Financially troubled SUNY Downstate Medical Center in East Flatbush, also under the authority of the State University of New York, has begun shutting down LICH departments and diverting ambulances from the ER in defiance of a Brooklyn Supreme Court court order.
“We are going to lose a vital community hospital in a matter of weeks unless something changes,” de Blasio said. “The Governor must act to save LICH, and SUNY Downstate must stop its end run around a judge’s direct order and commit to keeping this hospital up and running. This is a moment for all New Yorkers to stand up and fight, and I’m proud to do my part.”