Archive for May, 2008

St. Vincent’s Hospital Responds to Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Findings on Replacement Hospital Project

Following the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s discussions regarding the St. Vincent’s Replacement Hospital project, St. Vincent’s has announced that it intends to seek a hardship exemption to demolish its O’Toole building in order to move forward on its plan to provide a 21st-century, state-of-the art green hospital for the West Side of Manhattan. It also stands ready to amend its LPC application in the event the Rudin Family decides to modify its plans to develop the current hospital campus for residential use.

“While we are disappointed by the discussions of the Landmarks Preservation Commission as it pertains to the O’Toole site, we understand that the Commission’s scope is to examine the appropriateness of demolition within the historic district. Nevertheless, St. Vincent’s remains focused on building a 21st century medical center for the West Side of Manhattan, and will move forward with a hardship application, an avenue provided for in the Landmarks laws,” said Henry Amoroso, President and CEO of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers. “The reality is that the O’Toole site is the only location where we can build a fully efficient, state-of-the-art green hospital to serve the people of New York. We are committed to continuing our more than 150-year mission of providing quality healthcare to an enormous number of New Yorkers, and we will return as soon as possible to the Landmarks Commission with a hardship application for the demolition of the O’Toole building.”

The Landmarks laws allow non-profit applicants, such as St. Vincent’s, to apply for a hardship exemption in situations where the Commission is not prepared to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition, but finds that the structure is unusable for the non-profit’s charitable purposes.

For more information, please contact:

Michael Fagan
Vice President, Public Affairs
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers
(212) 604-7965

Building Proposal by Greenwich Village Hospital Is Rejected

By Glenn Collins

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday sent St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, which had pushed for a $1.6 billion development proposal within the Greenwich Village Historic District, back to the drawing board.

The plan would have demolished nine existing buildings to permit the construction of a 329-foot-tall hospital and a 265-foot-tall luxury condominium in conjunction with the Rudin Management Company. All of the 10 commissioners present spoke at a public hearing and all opposed it.

GOVERNOR PATERSON ANNOUNCES MAKEOVER AND STATEWIDE PUSH FOR ICONIC “I LOVE NY” CAMPAIGN

New Campaign Expected to Increase Tourism by Nearly 30 % by 2020

Governor David A. Paterson today announced a revitalized long-term marketing strategy for the iconic “I LOVE NY” brand campaign. This fresh makeover – led by Empire State Development (ESD) – will take one of the world’s most well-known, signature brands in a new direction that will help increase New York State tourism from 155 million visitors in 2006 to 200 million by 2020 and boost direct tourism spending to $60 billion annually.

“It’s critical that we maintain a strong statewide brand because tourism is presently a $47 billion revenue generator for the State of New York that supports over 740,000 jobs,” said Governor Paterson. “It’s been 31 years since the ‘I LOVE NY’ brand was initially launched and it is an incredible asset for New York. The time to build on this tradition is now and we can take the campaign to a new level in a way that will encourage today’s visitors to experience the incredible getaway opportunities we offer throughout the entire State.”

Paterson Nominates Executive Director for Port Authority

By Patrick McGeehan< br>

Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Friday that he had nominated Christopher O. Ward, a former executive with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to be the authority’s executive director. Mr. Ward, 53, would succeed Anthony E. Shorris, who was appointed to the job last year by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

Mr. Ward, who was working for the Port Authority on 9/11 and was at the trade center that morning, has a master’s degree in theology from the divinity school at Harvard University.

He said in an interview that one of his first tasks would be to review the plans for rebuilding ground zero “to make sure that the projects move forward in the best possible manner.” His education could be helpful there, he said, because “understanding faith and hope is important.”

He said he hoped to start at the Port Authority this month after its board of commissioners approves his appointment. His salary as executive director would be $286,702.

The governor of New York traditionally selects the executive director of the agency, while the governor of New Jersey normally picks the chairman of the authority’s board.

Mr. Ward dropped his plan of pursuing a doctorate in theology and worked for government agencies in the city for more than 20 years. He was an executive of the Port Authority from 1997 to 2002, managing the establishment of a toll increase in 2001 and the planning of the AirTrain to Kennedy International Airport. He was the authority’s chief of planning and external affairs when he left to become the commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

He left the Bloomberg administration in 2005 to be the chief executive of American Stevedoring, a port operator. He is currently the managing director of the General Contractors Association of New York.

In a statement, Governor Paterson said: “Chris Ward has developed extraordinary skills during his long career in both the public and private sectors. I believe he will provide the visionary leadership needed to build and maintain a first-rate transportation and infrastructure system for the 21st century.”

RWDSU agrees to Contract at Bloomie’s

by: Elisabeth Butler Cordova

Local 3 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union gets a new deal covering everyone from stock room workers to sales people, and providing for a guaranteed wage increase of at least $2.15 per hour over the next four years.

Members of Local 3 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Thursday approved a four-year labor contract with Bloomingdale officials. About 2,000 union members staff the department store’s flagship location.

“The contract was approved overwhelmingly,” says Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

The new contract, which covers everyone from stock room workers to sales people, calls for a guaranteed wage increase of at least $2.15 per hour over the next four years. That means a gift wrapper currently making $9.50 an hour will make at least $11.65 an hour by 2012. Employees can earn another 30 cents per hour, depending on the store’s productivity, Mr. Appelbaum says. The union rejected a performance-based increase that would have allowed store officials to judge each employee’s performance individually.

For the first time, Bloomingdale’s will have to get permission from the union before hiring additional employees to work on commission. The store will also have to provide two paid days off to any employee who works a holiday.

The labor contract finalizes everything but the workers’ health care plan. The parties agreed to extend negotiations on the health care issue until May 15. The union rejected the store’s plan to switch to a proposed HMO and is now pushing for store officials to merge the current medical plan with a union-run RWDSU program, Mr. Appelbaum said.

$27B SHORT & OVER A BARREL

By FREDRIC U. DICKER, State Editor

ALBANY – Gov. Paterson grimly warned yesterday that New York faces an “insurmountable” series of budget gaps totaling an unprecedented $27.5 billion over the next four years.

“We’re going to have an economic forecast in the next 24 hours that I think is going to make it very clear to all of you not only what will probably be a deficit next year, $1 billion over what we thought even a couple of days ago, but we’re going to have out year [future-year] deficits that are starting to reach numbers that we have never discussed in this state,” said Paterson.