Brooklyn residents react to investigation into de Blasio’s role in LICH closure
'Mad as hell'
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is reportedly investigating Mayor Bill de Blasio’s involvement in the controversial sale of Long Island College Hospital (LICH), and residents of neighborhoods like Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Red Hook are hopeful that someone will finally be punished for the demise of the 150-year-old hospital.
The sale of LICH by the State University of New York (SUNY), which ignited protests and a years-long legal battle, was widely considered a debacle that delivered a lasting blow to health care in northwest Brooklyn.
“The Cobble Hill Association will be following this investigation closely,” said CHA President Amy Breedlove.
“The community felt wronged by SUNY, by its mismanagement of LICH and the manner in which the state conducted the hospital’s closing and sale, as the development of the LICH site will forever alter our historic neighborhood,” Breedlove said. “Many residents remain highly skeptical of how such a damaging project came about.”