To the editor,
Last month, your reporter inaccurately reported that Community Board Six’s Landmarks-Land Use Committee had voted against recommending to the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals that New York Methodist Hospital receive requested variances to build a new outpatient care center. To your credit, you pulled the inaccurate article and replaced it with one that correctly stated that the committee had, in fact, voted to recommend the variances, with conditions.
This month, the same reporter got the story wrong again. Her article about the hearing on the project at the Board of Standards and Appeals begins with these two paragraphs:
“New York Methodist Hospital must alter its controversial plans for an expansion that some Park Slope residents say would wreck their tree-lined streets with traffic, smog, and out-of-place architecture, the city demanded this week.
“The Board of Standards and Appeals told the hospital to tweak its proposal to be closer to the what current zoning allows after Slopers in attendance argued that the hospital’s rationale for why it needs such a big facility has not passed muster.”
In fact, the BSA made no such “demands.” Instead, its members asked for further clarification and information about the plans, which they will review and which will be up for discussion at an April hearing. Whether the BSA will then request any alterations in the plans has yet to be determined.
Furthermore, your reporter stated that hospital“reps are sure they can convince municipal bean-counters to okay the project.”
Neither I nor anyone else affiliated with the hospital made any such arrogant statement. What I said was: “We are confident that we will be able to provide the requested information and answer all questions to the Board’s satisfaction at the continued hearing in April.”
I would not presume to predict what the BSA’s decision will be.
While the opposition’s arguments are covered in your article, there is absolutely no discussion of the many positive statements by Park Slope and other Brooklyn residents who support the proposal. I am disappointed that this story is not receiving balanced coverage from The Brooklyn Paper. Regardless, I would hope that even a biased article could get the facts straight.
Lyn Hill, Vice President for Communication and External Affairs at New York Methodist Hospital
