Meet The De Blasios ; Or, Meet The Old, Inept Press ?

The Media Takes No Responsibility to Inform and No Shame For Failure to Do So ...

Now that the political realities, or impossibilities, are emerging for the expected next mayor, Bill de Blasio, the media is panicking about how little they were caught unawares of Mr. de Blasio's impending win. Like True News From Change has been pointing out, it was the media's job to vet Mr. de Blasio, and now, as the media worries about how Mr. de Blasio plans to translate his positions into actual government policy, the media forgets that it was they themselves, who gave Mr. de Blasio as pass during the primary election season.

"So which is Bill de Blasio, Sandinista or Clintonista, radical or clubhouse regular ? It’s a good question, particularly considering how vague he has been about so many things as a mayoral candidate." (Daily News Op-Ed via True News From Change)

... But Sal Albanese Calls Media Out

How the Media Lost the Race for Mayor. Bill de Blasio won the Democratic primary. Sal Albanese did not. But thanks to poor coverage of the race, the former councilman argues, New York's voters are the real losers.

No doubt, Mr. de Blasio has won the hearts of New Yorkers. If he lives up to expectations, I believe that he could make the five boroughs better for all of us. But "ifs" and "coulds" don't pick up the garbage or keep the city safe. We would be much better off if we knew what our next mayor had accomplished and really plans to do over the next four years. Unfortunately, the fourth estate has failed to provide that information.

Elections have consequences, and so does the way that we cover them. For the sake of our city's future, we must demand better. (Sal Albanese * City Limits)

Money in Politics. Despite Mr. de Blasio's claims that he was the true progressive in this year's mayoral Democratic primary, he's certainly embraced the role of money and lobbyists in electoral politics, an apparent contradiction of core progressive values. A spot financed by a pro-Bill de Blasio “super PAC” in the New York mayoral race charges that Joseph J. Lhota wants to help big corporations and developers. The campaign commercial will be broadcast in a $1 million media buy could be used by Mr. Lhota to suggest that Mr. de Blasio, who has spoken out against super PACs, is acting hypocritically by not renouncing their support. (The Ad Campaign : Group Backing de Blasio Tries to Shackle Lhota to Tea Party * The New York Times)

Money is King in NYC Mayoral Politics : Bill De Blasio Campaign Rakes in $3.7 Million http://t.co/ng3a0ddQcs

— Informed Voting (@informedvoting) October 25, 2013

All fluff and no substance. New York magazine is looking forward to the de Blasio family's holiday card. But then what ?

First look at the cover of next week's magazine: Meet the De Blasios pic.twitter.com/Si7AjnAYtg

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) October 25, 2013

Hospitals Still Face Chopping Block, Employees Keep Receiving Layoff Notices

Long Island College Hospital issued layoff notices to some 500 employees, effective Oct. 29. The majority of the workers are members of 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East and the New York State Nurses Association. (Brooklyn Hospital Lays Off 500 * Crain's)

Gov. Cuomo proposes to close three Brooklyn hospitals and replace them with a new hospital at an estimated cost of $1 billion. (New Brooklyn hospital proposed ; cost $1 billion ; would replace 3 existing hospitals * Crains)

Let Them Eat Cheesecake : Buying Creamy Pies While 500 LICH Employees Receive Layoff Notices

SUNY lays off 500 Long Island College Hospital employees @DownstateLICH @SUNY http://t.co/IVT23sLzn3 @deBlasioNYC @JoeLhota4Mayor

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) October 26, 2013

St. Vincent's Hospital. Healthcare activists are trying to pressure NBC 4, the host of the next mayoral debate, to ask hospital-related questions of the mayoral candidates. What do the candidates plan to do to save all of New York City's community hospitals ? Do the candidates have plans to replace the full-service hospitals that were closed under the Bloomberg-Quinn administration ?

Sergeants Benevolent Association Take Out Full Page Ad Against Christine Quinn

A helping hand or special treatment? @SBANYPD criticizes @Quinn4NY over her response to a fainted intern http://t.co/brKu1RWybI

— Michael Paulson (@MichaelPaulson) July 20, 2013

2013-07-19 Sergeants Benevolent Association - Quinn Ad

Scott Stringer Supports A New Hospital To Replace St. Vincent's

Scott Stringer Says We Need a Full-Service Hospital in the Lower West Side of Manhattan.

At a community forum to discuss the fight for a new hospital, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said the community needed a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's.

Lawmakers and other government officials were invited to the forum at Hudson Guild in Chelsea, and, in their stead, they sent representatives. Mr. Stringer was the only major politician to show up in person, and he made a crowd-pleasing speech.

The community meeting took place Wednesday evening, Feb. 16, from 6 - 8 p.m. at Hudson Guild and was sponsored by the Coälition for a New Village Hospital and the WestView News newspaper.

It is almost one year since St. Vincent's Hospital was closed under shady conditions, and, in that time, the Coälition for a New Village Hospital has been leading the fight to bring back a new hospital for the Lower West Side of Manhattan.

In the time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the New York City Council, at least eight city hospitals have closed. In 2010, North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy and St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village shut down after shady backroom meetings. In 2009, two hospitals in Queens -- St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica -- went bankrupt. In 2008, Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan and Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge closed. And in 2007, St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan was closed. Separately, one other hospital in Brooklyn, Long Island College Hospital, is on the brink of closing, and the only hope of saving the hospital is if it mergers with SUNY Downstate.

Brooklyn Hospital Closings - Updated

UPDATED : Interfaith Medical Center plans to file for bankruptcy this week. (Revised : Sunday 02 Dec 2012 8:52 p.m.)

About ten months after Gov. Andrew Cuomo floated the idea of hospital closings to cut the New York State Medicaid budget, there came an article in The New York Times that purports to portray Gov. Cuomo as a saviour of Brooklyn hospitals, but the reality is that he has been trying for years now to close safety net hospitals in Brooklyn in order to cut the state's healthcare budget.

Is there a deliberate plan to merge hospitals until they fail ? nydailynews.com/new-york/hamil… @nygovcuomo @newyorkmrt @propublica @healthcarefor99

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 18, 2013

In February 2011, it was announced that Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn had been saved from closing ; it eventually merged with SUNY Downstate Hospital.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo found enough state grant money in February 2011 to save Long Island College Hospital, NY1 reported. Because of that 2011 deal, 2,500 employees, who work at LICH, will be able to keep their jobs.

But in the time since, Gov. Cuomo has been window-dressing the New York State budget by closing down entire hospitals in a scorched earth campaign to make savage cuts to Medicaid, the state of public health be damned. In fact, two years after Gov. Cuomo portrayed himself as a hero of public health, employees of LICH and residents and patients of LICH participated in a protest right outside of Gov. Cuomo's Manhattan offices. As time went on, Gov. Cuomo came to be seen for his true intention : willing to shut down entire hospitals to make severe budget cuts off the backs of the people most in need : underinsured and insured hospital patients.

Aiding and abetting Gov. Cuomo has been neoliberal Christine Quinn, who, as Speaker of the New York City Council, has oversight of the city budget, including that of the Health and Hospitals Corporation, which is charged with overseeing the state of public health here in New York City. Speaker Quinn also administers billions of dollars in City Council discretionary funds, which, instead of allocating resources to develop a truly sustainable funding model for healthcare, makes disbursements according to political expediency that benefits her immediate political and personal ambitions. To wit, during the time that she has been in charge of City Council, Speaker Quinn has stood by and done thing as ten city hospitals have closed :

• Westchester Square Medical Center up in the Bronx was sold in 2013 after its own bankruptcy proceeding and is expected to be downsized into an urgent care center ;
• Peninsula Hospital Center in Far Rockaway declared closed in 2012 after having declared bankruptcy ;
• North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy in 2010 ;
• St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village was shut down in 2010 after shady backroom meetings ;
• St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst went bankrupt in 2009 ;
• Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica went bankrupt in 2009 ;
• Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills decided to close in 2008 ;
• Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan closed in 2008 ;
• Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge closed in 2008 ; and
• St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan closed in 2007.

In October 2010, New York magazine published an exposé written by Mark Levine, which described the dangerous public health issues resulting from all the hospital closings.

"Last year, a pair of hospitals in Queens closed suddenly, just before the outbreak of H1N1, causing overflow conditions in the emergency rooms of nearby facilities, one of which set up a triage area on a loading dock."

In January of 2011, The New York Post has made a list more Brooklyn hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

• Brooklyn Center
• Brookdale
• Interfaith
• Kingsbrook
• Wyckoff

In the summer of 2012, members of the Healthcare for the 99% Working Group of Occupy Wall Street participated in a demonstration outside of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in solidarity with employees and residents of that community, to say "No" to the closing of Wyckoff.

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals. (Note that the link to The Post article sometimes does not work. Hmmmm. Try this link for some corroborating information about the hospital closings that would come about as a result of Gov. Cuomo's Medicaid cuts.)