Opinion:VOTE ‘YES’: Medical facility would provide enormous benefits

Simone Healthcare Development and Mount Sinai remain firmly committed to the plan to provide the highest level of comprehensive and coordinated outpatient care to the residents of the Five Towns community.

We have listened very carefully to the concerns expressed at community forums and in the press over the past several weeks and we are seeking to better address the planning issues that have been raised by residents in the immediate vicinity of the site about potential traffic and the loss of open space.

We are very encouraged by the positive feedback the medical facility has received. We continue to believe that the proposed medical center will provide enormous benefits to the community by providing enhanced, quality medical care, job opportunities, immediate and ongoing tax benefits, and an attractive adaptive re-use of the School 6 property that is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. We believe the benefits to the community far outweigh any potential negative impact.

Contrary to persistent rumors, the project is not and will not be a “hospital” or “mega-medical center.” In fact, the current building will not be enlarged under our proposal. Instead, it will be transformed from an abandoned school that drains public money through ongoing maintenance and insurance costs into a comprehensive outpatient medical office and urgent care center to be operated by the world renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. There will be a total of 60 physicians with about 100 support staff, offering patients better coordination of primary and specialty care, all in one convenient location.

Simone Healthcare Development Group and Mount Sinai remain dedicated to partnering with the community to create a top quality medical office practice that welcomes the participation of local physicians, reduces medical costs by eliminating hundreds of ER visits and significantly reduces the time it takes to receive quality medical attention, all under one roof. Instead of burdening taxpayers, our project reduces taxes. It provides millions of dollars to the school district in the short term and saves taxpayers millions more in the long term.

I thank you for allowing me to clear up some misconceptions about our

project.