Retired Brooklyn judge rumored to be tapped to help settle LICH case
Retired judge and former state senator Hon. William Thompson Sr., is rumored to have selected to mediate the contentious and controversial suit between Long Island College Hospital (LICH) and the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center (SUNY), which wishes to shut the hospital down.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes, presiding judge in the LICH/SUNY case, has issued a temporary restraining order preventing SUNY from ceasing the hospital function of LICH. Supporters of LICH say that SUNY is violating the order and taking steps to shut LICH down. It is purported that Baynes has assigned Thompson to mediate the case and hopefully assist in bringing both sides to resolution.
Thompson, a graduate of Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School, has participated in settlement and compromise in one form or another since the inception of his career. In 1965, Thompson was elected to the New York State Senate, becoming the first black American elected to serve as state senator in New York. In 1968 he ran for Congress, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by the famed Shirley Chisholm, who became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress.