The Brooklyn Hospital Center in Fort Greene announced last week that it has filed a preliminary application with the city for a $1 billion plan to modernize and renovate its campus.
This plan, which will undergo public review by the city, would create a new cancer center, ambulatory surgery center and outpatient diagnostic center, as well as expand the emergency room, maternity ward, cardiac center and breast cancer center at the hospital’s 121 DeKalb Avenue location.
“Our hospital, Brooklyn’s oldest and one of the largest independent hospitals in New York City, was confronted with a stark reality before the crisis: we were managing the loss of significant dollars while we continued to operate in outdated facilities,” President and Chief Executive Officer of the Brooklyn Hospital Center Gary G. Terrinoni said. “The heroic effort to care for patients under the most awful circumstances highlighted how much this new development is needed. Now more than ever, we are acutely aware that Brooklyn needs us, and we must do everything possible to make sure we are prepared for the future.”
The non-for-profit hospital has been around since 1845, making it the second oldest hospital in the borough. It serves 75% Medicaid and Medicare patients.
“The Brooklyn Hospital Center is dedicated to providing outstanding health services, education, and research to keep the people of Brooklyn and greater New York healthy,” the hospital’s mission statement reads.
In order to raise enough funds for this 8-to-10-year project, the center sold its 21-story Maynard building and created it into a residential building, with around 1,000 units.
It has a mixture of affordable housing and mixed-income housing. It will be available for hospital staff, minimum wage earners and other Brooklyn residents, according to hospital spokesperson Vanessa Figueroa. s
The renovation will require a rezoning of the area, but it will remain in the current street limits of the hospital, between Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene Park and Ashland Street. Figueroa did not give specific on what type of rezoning was needed and a breakdown of the affordability of the proposed housing units.
KCP reached out to City Council Member Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Downton Brooklyn) who represents the district that the hospital is in, but did not receive a response to multiple requests for comment.
