Jewish Hospital rant, etc.

abs276 wrote:
random question, since this topic has been revived...

what is the "radiation therapy" part of the jewish (on st. marks) being used for? it's obviously not apartments because half the windows are boarded up/broken, but it seems to be in use for something.

nobody knows?

Subject: has the answers

abs276 wrote: [quote=abs276]
random question, since this topic has been revived...

what is the "radiation therapy" part of the jewish (on st. marks) being used for? it's obviously not apartments because half the windows are boarded up/broken, but it seems to be in use for something.

nobody knows?

i have looked into that. i have found out it is a facility for recovering drug addicts. they serve meth out of there for junkies. which eplains the drug traffic. however i just found out that they moved to across the street 467-475 stmarks into another building. but i still see them in both places. alma is keeping that a secret. i went to the board meeting and found out.

Subject: Re: has the answers

desmongomez wrote: [quote=abs276][quote=abs276]
random question, since this topic has been revived...

what is the "radiation therapy" part of the jewish (on st. marks) being used for? it's obviously not apartments because half the windows are boarded up/broken, but it seems to be in use for something.

nobody knows?

i have looked into that. i have found out it is a facility for recovering drug addicts. they serve meth out of there for junkies. which eplains the drug traffic.

Just a clarification. Crystal methamphetamine is what people commonly refer to as "meth," whereas what they give heroin addicts is methadone. Two very different drugs with very different effects, cultures, etc.

Yeah, heroin junkies who've had their fix are pretty harmless. I remember having to step over them on 12th Avenue in Manhattan before that area got cleaned up. It's BEFORE their fix that you have to watch out, because then they'll steal your stuff to get money to get high.

I would imagine that a methadone clinic that gives out free methadone, while unsavory, would reduce the crime rate in the area a bit.

Well, it was an idea. You have more experience in these matters, so you're probably right.

However, would you agree with me that if we had more drug treatment available for people who need them (and spread more evenly in the area as the consensus is that CH is overrepresented) that crime would go *down* because as people clean up, they won't need to steal to feed their habits?

King without a crown wrote: Yeah that makes a lot of sense, having a Methadone clinic in the area reduces Crime. Having Heroin addicts waiting on line for hours for a fix while their going through withdrawl works wonders for a community. Many people who are there, are also Crack addicts and alcoholics. It's very rare that these people use the Methadone to clean up their act and become productive members of society. They often drink, smoke weed, smoke crack outside the clinic. Theres also a black market for the Methadone, so they often peddle the Orange juice outside the clinic. Not only that, Drug dealers know that theres an abundance of Drug users there at any given time, so they set up shop from Prospect Plc all the way down to Pacific st.

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Your right on target ,these clinics are not for rehabilitation,they are profit driven and are making a fortune as legalized drug dealers and it's clients are nothing but government owned junkies.

lilbangladesh wrote: I thought these centers were government-funded.

Exactly how are they turning a profit when most of the junkies aren't paying for methadone?

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They are privately owned [with the exception of Hospital programs] and paid by the government to service the addicts.
There is no attempt by them to ween the addicts off methadone, as why kill the cash cow.

lilbangladesh wrote: Oh that. Not a fan of government contractors for social services myself. Most of the private companies that the state contracts to handle the needs of the developmentally disabled basically do bubkes for the developmentally disabled, mostly because of that same philosophy. I mean, if they actually helped developmentally disabled people be more independent, that would mean less contract money, so DD people are often purposely kept from working or living at their potential, and if the DD person is intelligent enough, such treatment can make them suicidal.

I know. I used to work for one of those horrible agencies. It totally soured me on social work. There are a few good ones out there, but they're rare.

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I have a niece who works with disadvantaged children and some of the horrible situations she speaks about, I don't know how she can deal with her job and to this point not have it effect her personal life.

Subject: survey on Jewish Hospital and impact on surrounding area

Hi everyone,

I'm currently a grad student studying Art Education at NYU. I am in the very preliminary stages of doing research on the Jewish Hospital and its impact on the surrounding community, both in its past state as a functioning hospital, and its current incarnation as an apartment complex, for consideration as either the subject or site of a future public art project.

I'm hoping for some input specifically from current or past Jewish Hospital residents, and also from anyone with memories of it as a working hospital. I've put together a survey that I hope will give me some more information on its impact on the community.

If you fit either of those descriptions, or if you think you'd have something to add to the discussion, I'd love it if you could PM me and I'll get you the questions ASAP. Make sure to let me know your relationship to the Hospital, as the surveys will vary slightly.

None of the answers will ever be published, and you can remain as anonymous as you'd like.

Thanks in advance for your help!

abs276 wrote:
should the jewish hospital site be doing more to serve the community, in addition to its use as an apartment complex, considering its past (and even its lot size)? what could these uses be?

i don't understand this question. there is no entity of the "jewish hospital". there are a bunch of tenants, who mostly have no other connection to each other, and there is a landlord. do you mean the landlord? or that the building itself should be something other than housing?

in general, i find the (nationwide) closing and consolidation of hospitals troubling, but given that this one had been closed for a while, i think housing is a fine use.

abs276 wrote: thanks for the reply. yes, i mean the owner/management. i know that it is housing and will remain housing. however, there is still a significant amount of unused space and unrenovated buildings that could possibly be something else.

i'm realizing though, after talking with many neighbors about the hospital (when it was a hospital), that housing is actually a big improvement for them over the hospital. the patients in its latter years attracted dealers and crime, and the majority of neighbors i spoke to welcome the added security that the apartments have provided.

I was in Jewish Hospital in its final days before it was closed. It was scary. Lots of patients wandering the halls, very little staff and dark and dingy cafeteria. No self-respecting person would chose to go there.

Now at least the buildings are being used and bringing new people to the n'hood.

One of the owners told me yesterday that they almost have a certificate of occupancy for a new supermarket in the former emergency room on St. Marks Place. Boy, would that be a big improvement.