SUNY announces plan to close down Long Island College Hospital

COBBLE HILL (WABC) -- On Saturday it was quiet outside of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. The ambulance bay was empty, and the ambulances were sitting idle because the emergency department shut down on Thursday morning. The entire facility is set to shut down this coming Thursday.

SUNY runs the hospital, which is losing about $13 Million a month. As part of a deal with the courts, they are stepping away, but without another operator to take over. Will the doors close on Thursday like SUNY says they will?

Long time Cobble Hill resident Stas Resnick has been a part of the fight to keep the hospital open.

"Developers were here looking at all the buildings and properties, this is while SUNY is saying 'it's a great hospital, we're going to run this hospital', but they knew they weren't going to run it," Resnick says.

The battle to keep the hospital open has been going on for years - something New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been a part of, even getting arrested during a protest when he was a Public Advocate.

The Mayor's office released a statement saying, "Each time LICH has been on the brink of closure, our coalition of advocates and activists has stood up, and it's why LICH is still open today. We won't take this latest deadline lying down."

Councilman Stephen Levin represents the neighborhood, and was also arrested with de Blasio during the protest.

"This is a major component of our healthcare in Brooklyn, it has to be maintained, and it has to be done in a way which we maximize healthcare," Levin said.

The fight to keep the hospital open will likely continue in the courts this upcoming week. Whoever becomes the next operator could have the option of scaling down the facility and developing part of it into condos.

Patients requiring their medical records should call (718) 780-4632, 4642, or 4643.