Lawmakers object to Mount Sinai's plans to close Beth Israel Hospital

EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (PIX11) – The move by a major New York City hospital to close is being met with significant backlash.

Beth Israel Hospital is one of the few hospitals on the Lower East Side. Supporters of the hospital staying open insist that since Mount Sinai bought it in 2013, the health care provider has been dismantling it by removing heart surgery, maternity, rehab, and physical medicine and reducing beds in pediatrics.

The New York State Department of Health initially blocked the closure, but that move is only temporary. Mount Sinai responded by changing its initial plan to close Beth Israel in mid-July.

The new plan to close the hospital includes helping Bellevue Hospital expand its emergency department. A coalition of elected members of Congress, state senators and the City Council argue that Mount Sinai can't shut the hospital down.

The coalition said in part, "This elimination of services on a hasty timeline without adequate community engagement remains unacceptable."

The New York State Assembly has since passed an act that would prevent hasty closures of hospitals. If the act becomes law, it would require much more input from the public when a hospital system is looking to severely shrink or shut down.