UNREQUITED LOVE: As LICH nears death after SUNY betrayal, Brooklynites meet to ignite passions on Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2013 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Following the decision by the board of SUNY Downstate Medical Center to close LICH (Long Island College Hospital) in Cobble Hill, community members are holding a forum on Thursday, February 14 at 6 p.m. at the Kane Street Synagogue, 236 Kane Street (between Court and Clinton streets) in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

Nurses, doctors, religious leaders and small business owners will gathering to get the message out that LICH is “still open for business,” organizers told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Despite SUNY’s apparent haste to steer business away from the hospital, “LICH remains a full-service, acute and primary care facility, and it needs to stay that way,” according to a statement from the New York State Nurses Association and SEIU/Local 1199.

“I was born and raised in this community. I grew up knowing LICH saves lives. Now I see how LICH saves lives everyday as an OR nurse,” Lori Balzano, an RN at LICH said in a statement. “LICH is vital to the community. LICH remains open for care and we must make sure it stays so.”

Forum backers include the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District, Kane Street Synagogue, the Brooklyn Heights Association, DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, New York Communities for Change, National Action Network and elected officials.