General Contractors Assoc. of NY Pleased to Deal Between Port Authority and WTC Developer Larry Silverstein

The General Contractors Association of New York applauds the Port Authority and Larry
Silverstein for reaching an agreement that will keep the world trade center site moving forward while preserving the Port Authority’s ability to fund the critical infrastructure projects that are vital to the region’s economic growth.

For the complete Press Release, click here: GCA

Mt. Sinai Vetoes Partnership With Struggling St. Vincent’s

By Sharon Otterman

Another potential savior has decided to pass on St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, leaving the struggling Greenwich Village institution without a feasible rescue plan as it tries to stave off closing.

Mount Sinai Medical Center, which had been looking into a partnership with St. Vincent’s, decided on Wednesday that it was not interested.

“We have concluded that we are not going to pursue the acquisition of the inpatient operations of St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, but we will continue to consider other health care options for the communities served by St. Vincent’s,” Mount Sinai said in a statement. It did not elaborate.

Over the next several days, the St. Vincent’s board will meet to discuss if any option short of bankruptcy still exists for the nonprofit charity hospital, which has provided health care to its surrounding community for over 160 years.

“As the leadership of Mount Sinai has concluded that it will not pursue the operation of St. Vincent’s as an acute-care hospital, our board will be in discussions with our management, legal and financial advisers to quickly access our strategic options moving forward,” St. Vincent’s said in a press release.

But declaring bankruptcy might not be enough to save the hospital, which emerged from bankruptcy only three years ago. Its creditors could force it to close, with its assets — principally its valuable Village real estate — sold off to satisfy some of its $700 million debt.

The hospital had been set to declare bankruptcy the first week of February, but a total of about $20 million in emergency loans from the state and the hospital’s main creditors, GE Capital and TD Bank, helped give it a few more weeks to make payroll and search for a partner.

The hospital, which is running at a deficit of $7 million to $10 million a month, has spent nearly all that money, and with Albany deep in its own financial trouble, more state money is unlikely, people close to the process said on Thursday.

The office of Gov. David A. Paterson has been leading a task force to search for alternatives, and in recent days it has met almost daily. The governor said in a statement on Thursday that he had personally called potential hospital partners “to indicate our willingness to work with them in assisting the hospital.”

“I am disappointed that at this point, there does not appear to be a partner for the hospital,” the governor said in a statement, adding that the task force “will continue to work with the hospital, unions, elected officials, lenders and others until every viable avenue is exhausted.”

In January, Continuum Health Partners, a consortium in Brooklyn and Manhattan, offered to take over St. Vincent’s outpatient facilities, but it withdrew that offer, in part because of local opposition to Continuum’s plan to shut down most emergency room functions and to send 911 ambulance calls to other hospitals.

Local officials vowed on Thursday that this would not be the end. “This is a setback, but it is not over, and we are continuing to look for partners to keep the hospital open,” said Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and a member of the hospital task force.

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WhyHunger Throws Down the Gauntlet: New Name Reflects Renewed Mission to Address Hunger & Poverty

WhyHunger (formerly World Hunger Year) is issuing a challenge to solve the global hunger crisis, which affects over a billion people worldwide. The organization is changing its name to WhyHunger effective March 3, 2010, which marks its 35th anniversary. The name change achieves two key goals: it conveys the organization’s mission, which is to identify and address the root causes of hunger and poverty and provide innovative, community-based solutions; and it issues a challenge to the public, to question why hunger is one of the biggest crises facing humanity today.

“When [organization co-founder] Harry Chapin and I were trying to come up with a name, we worked on the “why” questions: ‘Why is there hunger in a world that can feed itself?’ Why is there hunger in the world’s richest country?’ Going back to the ‘why’ questions is going back to our roots,” explains WhyHunger’s Executive Director and co-founder Bill Ayres. “You can never change anything unless you ask the ‘why’ questions.”

Soaring unemployment and rising food prices have contributed to the growing hunger crisis in this country, as 49 million Americans, including 17 million children live with food insecurity and face a daily struggle to get adequate nutrition. 37 million Americans rely on emergency food assistance from soup kitchens, food pantries and food banks, and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) use is at a record high.

WhyHunger is addressing the crisis head-on by finding practical answers to the problems of hunger and poverty both in the short-term and over the long haul.

WhyHunger’s National Hunger Hotline refers individuals in need to emergency food assistance and government benefits for which they are eligible. Increasing access to government benefits injects more money into communities, thereby stimulating local economies.

By supporting grass-roots organizations that promote local farming, sustainable food production, and greater access to good food, WhyHunger looks to empower individuals and provide long-term solutions to the hunger and poverty crisis both in the United States and abroad.

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Paterson’s layoff threat a deal-breaker?

Today’s News, Thursday April 1, 2010

The Civil Service Employees Association reacted angrily to a Wednesday Buffalo News article in which the Paterson administration threatened “massive” layoffs this year if state worker unions don’t agree to concessions.

As part of an agreement on a new pension tier reached last June with the CSEA and the Public Employees Federation, Gov. Paterson promised to avert 8,700 layoffs in 2009 and 2010. But since the governor is no longer running for a new term and the budget is his last chance to shape his legacy, insiders wondered if he’d renege on the deal.

“We’re very concerned about our dealings with the Paterson administration and their ability to make good on what they say,” a CSEA spokesman says.

A Paterson administration source says the governor “has every intention” of keeping his promise in 2009 and 2010, but that “there’s a budget that runs through 2011.” The budget currently being negotiated runs through March 31, 2011, so the governor could conceivably lay workers off beginning Jan. 1 as part of this budget and still keep his word.

Both CSEA and PEF insist that they’ve offered ideas to the governor on ways he can achieve a desired $250 million in labor savings, but that they’ve heard nothing in response.

The unions recommended cutting back on temp workers and outside consultants, hiring entry-level workers instead of paying senior staffers overtime, and expanding a voluntary severance program. “We are not the problem,” says Tom Comanzo, a PEF vice president. “We have solutions to save money, but those solutions are not being taken seriously by the governor.”

A Paterson source says the proposals are geared towards bolstering the unions’ membership. “Every proposal they have offered to the state includes hiring more state workers,” the source says. “In a fiscal crisis you don’t hire more workers at the taxpayers’ expense to save money.”

A Paterson spokesman would not confirm the layoff threats that were detailed in the Buffalo News piece.

“Nobody made them come to that [new pension tier] agreement,” the CSEA spokesman says. “They wanted to come to that agreement, and when you have binding agreements, you have to live up to them.”

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