Controversial Tower Nixed In New Lenox Hill Expansion Plan

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The owner of Lenox Hill Hospital presented a revised plan to expand the medical center this week that removes some of the most controversial elements of their original proposal.

The new plan, presented by Northwell Health to a neighborhood task force on Tuesday, formally removes the 490-foot-tall residential tower on Park Avenue which would have helped fund the expansion, but which provoked controversy among some residents who said its size would be unacceptably out-of-scale with the surrounding area.

The revised plan also shortens the height of a second tower that would contain the hospital itself. Originally 516 feet tall, the hospital tower is now slated to stand at 436 feet while containing the same number of beds: 475.

The construction timeline, another cause for community concern, is likewise shortened in the new proposal, from about eight years down to roughly six. Northwell is still seeking zoning variances through the city's land use review procedure in order to move forward with the project.

Northwell's original plan was soundly rejected by Community Board 8 last October, and neighbors formed a preservation-oriented group, Committee to Protect Our Lenox Hill Neighborhood, to oppose the project.

In an effort to reach consensus, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer convened a task force last year between hospital executives, community groups and elected officials.

After pausing discussions for several months during the pandemic, the task force resumed meeting, and was shown the new proposal on Tuesday.

"Our revised proposal addresses the community’s concerns while simultaneously achieving a state-of-the-art hospital designed to care for current and future generations," Northwell wrote in a fact sheet about the new plan, which was shared with Patch.

While some groups have called on Northwell to withdraw the plan entirely, Northwell vowed this week to push forward with the project, saying the pandemic has "made it dramatically clear" that the hospital needs to expand.

The expansion would not increase the number of beds at Lenox Hill, but instead create individual rooms for hospital patients, according to Northwell. The emergency department and operating rooms would also be significantly enlarged.

Hospital officials said that the new complex would account for increased congestion by moving ambulances off 77th Street and into the facility, and create less obstructive loading docks on East 76th Street.

If the project is built, it will contribute to growing efforts to remake the Upper East Side into a major public health corridor. Earlier this week, the New York Blood Center announced plans for a significant expansion in the neighborhood, with the support of city officials.

Update, 2:31 p.m. Friday: the Committee to Protect Our Lenox Hill Neighborhood, which paused its efforts to oppose the expansion during the pandemic, released a statement Friday saying that it remained opposed to the revised project.

"Northwell Health's revised plan does nothing to address the concerns of New Yorkers who opposed their original multi-billion proposal to expand Lenox Hill Hospital — if anything, it has confirmed to New Yorkers living in low-income and minority neighborhoods in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn that [Northwell CEO Michael Dowling] and Northwell Health value profit over equity," the group said.

"And although Northwell has removed the residential tower on Park Avenue from its plan, the overall size and bulk of the hospital tower in the revised plan exceeds the original proposal and will have a long-term detrimental effect on the Lenox Hill neighborhood."

Brendan Krisel contributed to this report.

Previous coverage from Patch:

• Lenox Hill Hospital Expansion Battle Resumes After Pandemic Pause
• Lenox Hill May Scrap Park Avenue Tower From Expansion Plan
• BP Hopes Lenox Hill, Neighbors Reach Consensus On Expansion
• Thousands Sign Petition Against Lenox Hill Hospital Expansion