Statement on the Landmarks Preservation Commission's Approval of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers' Hardship Application
01/06/2009
Statement from Alfred E. Smith, IV and William Rudin on the Landmarks Preservation Commission's Approval of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers' Hardship Application
Contact: Michael Fagan
(212) 604-7965
New York, NY, October 28, 2008 -- 'We are very pleased that the Landmarks Preservation Commission today approved St. Vincent's hardship application, allowing us to take another step forward to building a 21st century, technologically-advanced hospital for Manhattan's West Side and Downtown.
We thank the Commissioners for their time and diligence in determining that St. Vincent's qualified for this rarely applied, but critically important exemption. We also are grateful to Chairman Robert Tierney for his leadership in this complex process, conducting an open, fair, and transparent review of the hardship application.
St. Vincent's is in a unique position as the only hospital in New York City located entirely within an historic district. Moreover, the lack of alternatives facing the hospital and the complications of constructing a new facility in a dense urban area made the case before the Commission challenging. Their decision is critical to St. Vincent's ability to carry forward its mission and ensure that residents, employees and visitors to Manhattan's West Side and Downtown have access to the kind of quality healthcare and trauma services that St. Vincent's will be able to provide in a modern facility.
St. Vincent's and the Rudin Family are fully committed to this vitally important project and look forward to working with LPC, our elected officials, and the whole Greenwich Village community as we continue on in this process.'
