Rudin Luxury Condo Lobbying Expenses

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Bill Rudin and the Rudin Family stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the Luxury Condo Conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, so much so, that spending $500,000 in lobbying alone is no big whoop.

Rudin Management Company, Inc., has declared $576,921 in lobbying expenses to New York City under the "Pay-to-Play" campaign finance reform regulations.

Over the course of the last 4 years, Rudin Management has paid at least $371,246 in declared lobbying expenses to the real estate lawyers and other lobbyists at the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. The Fried Frank real estate lobbyist that was most visible during the Community Board 2 hearings was Melanie Meyers. (Fried Frank is the old law firm, where Sarge Shriver once worked as a name partner ; Fried Frank is now disparaging Mr. Shriver's activist commitment to healthcare under President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty.")

Another $205,675 was paid by Rudin Management to the James F. Capalino & Associaties, Inc., lobbying firm. Interestingly, over 75% of the staggering amount paid to Capalino & Associates was for lobbying that targeted Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. On November 25, 2011, President Stringer issued a recommendation in favour of the Rudin Luxury Condo Conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital.

A .pdf report of the Rudin Management Company, Inc., lobbying expenses is available on Scribd :

Bill Rudin - Rudin Family Lobbyists - St Vincents Hospital - NYC Search Results

(All the money that Rudin Management has spent on lobbying does not include what amounts are undeclared lobbying expenses, or how much North Shore-LIJ and Lenox Hill Hospital have spent on lobbying, public relations, or advertising campaigns, to install a first aid clinic in the O'Toole Building.)

Is ''Westside Healthcare Coalition'' A Lie ?

''West Side Healthcare Coalition is a Lie''

In a sneaky marketing ploy, the backers of the first aid clinic that is being proposed to replace St. Vincent's Hospital has been mailing deceptive brochures to residents of the Lower West Side of Manhattan. The brochures indicate that they are being mailed by a group calling itself the Westside Healthcare Coalition.

A WhoIs search on Network Solutions today showed that the website for the front group is registered to Mehigan, Bellone & Associates, Inc.

According to a press release distributed by angry residents, ''The practice of setting up seemingly grassroots groups to lobby for corporate or political interests is known as astroturfing. The stealth-style marketing technique is banned by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).''

The real group that has been fighting to restore a hospital to our community is the “Coälition for a New Village Hospital.”

West Side Healthcare Coalition is a Lie

Don't be fooled by the suspicious mailings by the front group calling itself the Westside Healthcare Coalition. They are just as fake as the claims being made by North Shore-LIJ, namely, that the first aid clinic that the Rudin family is proposing to install in the O'Toole Building will be able to treat real medical emergencies. And even in the face of all this deceptive literature that is being sent through the U.S. Postal Service, still no word from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Sarah Jessica Parker Supports A New Hospital To Replace St. Vincent's

Sarah Jessica Parker endorses a Full-Service Hospital to replace St. Vincent's.

In an interview with The Villager newspaper, Sarah Jessica Parker expressed her support for a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's.

''Asked what she thought of the latest post-St. Vincent’s proposal, for an emergency-care facility at the site of the former hospital’s O’Toole building, the Sex and the City star looked skeptical. 'I’m concerned, let’s put it that way,' she said. 'The community needs a hospital — and I think there’s been some clever obfuscation.' As a parent of three young children, she noted, she’s especially concerned about local healthcare. 'I would like to see a proper, functioning [hospital] — not a walk-in,' she stressed. She said she had spoken to Council Speaker Christine Quinn about the issue.''

The interview given by Ms. Parker took place before information came to light about a deceptive political campaign brochure, which was mailed to residents of the Lower West Side by a front group calling itself the ''Westside Healthcare Coalition.'' A WhoIs search on Network Solutions today showed that the website for the front group is registered to Mehigan, Bellone & Associates, Inc. Whereas Ms. Parker was not directly speaking to the example of the campaign brochure as political subterfuge, you can see how she has already been concerned with the pattern of clever obfuscation.

North Shore-LIJ have a vested interest in installing a first aid clinic in the O'Toole Building in the West Village, so that the Rudin Family can build luxury condominiums on the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital. Meanwhile, watch this video about what having a full-service hospital in the Lower West Side means to one parent, whose child was treated by the live-saving emergency room at St. Vincent's Hospital :