Chair Louis questions assurances on nursing home and nonprofit operation
Chair Louis asks what assurances exist that the development will be a nursing home and nonprofit. Palatnik says state-allocated beds require long-term care use, and if the Sephardic Nursing Home does not operate it, Centers Healthcare will.
All right, thank you.
I have a couple of questions before I hand it over to Councilman Felder.
It is the subcommittee's understanding that this project was initially proposed at
as a nursing home, but the operator with whom the applicant was going to partner with, as you just mentioned, is no longer taking part of the project.
What assurances can you provide that this proposed development will in fact be a nursing home and a nonprofit?
I can make...
Quite a bit of assurance is that it will be developed as a long-term care facility.
The reason for that is for a couple of different reasons.
First of all, the beds have already been allocated by the state for that purpose, and beds are very difficult to get approval for.
Second, the landowner is also one of the largest assisted living facility providers.
In the metropolitan area, specifically in New York City, and is New York City-based.
The name of their company is Centers Healthcare, and they're very well recognized and respected for their work in New York City.
So if it is not operated by the Sephardic Nursing Home, which is the not-for-profit that was in contract,
with them, then it will be operated by Centers Healthcare.
Either way, it will be operated as a long-term care facility.
The bigger question that's, I think, germane, not so much from a land use perspective, but from an emotional and personal perspective for many people, is that the proposal right now, up until now, has been for Sephardic Nursing Home, which is a not-for-profit.
To be operating it.
Obviously, a not-for-profit comes from an altruistic motive, whereas Centers Healthcare is a for-profit organization.
Nothing wrong with being for-profit.
We all live in New York City, and it's okay to be for-profit.
But we all believe in our heart of hearts that the not-for-profit is a better fit.
And I'm not involved in those negotiations, and neither is the council member.
But everybody, such as the council member and myself, have been working with those two parties to try to get them to an agreement.
And a phone call I received last night was that they're continuing to work.
And I understand we have until November 11th before the EULA process times out.
And we're hoping that we could use that time before the council acts on its entirety to report back to you before a vote is taken that the wishes of the community and that we presented earlier are a dear deal.