Andrew Berman Has Blood On His Hands

It’s funny — it wasn’t so long ago that when St. Vincent’s Hospital was talking about expanding, people in Greenwich Village seemed to question the appropriateness of having a hospital like that in the neighborhood. Now that the hospital may close, people can’t think of what life would be like without it:

So far, the hospital, which is $700 million in debt and in danger of bankruptcy, has not found a partner. Continuum Health Partners, a consortium of hospitals in Brooklyn and Manhattan, had offered to take over its outpatient facilities, but then withdrew that offer, in part because of community opposition to Continuum’s plan to shut down most emergency room functions and to send 911 ambulance calls to other hospitals.

Where to get more money was a major topic of Friday’s meeting, which was attended by the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn; Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried; and representatives of the hospital workers’ union, Local 1199 of the S.E.I.U.; the city comptroller’s office; the nurses’ association; and others, according to attendees.

Mr. Gottfried said that representatives of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development talked about providing mortgage insurance to refinance loans. One person at the table reportedly wondered whether the Department of Homeland Security might extend money to St. Vincent’s, which played a major role in treating survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

“There is no getting around it — the situation for St. Vincent’s Hospital is critical, and we are all extremely concerned,” Mr. Nadler said in a statement afterward. “At the moment, we are actively engaging federal agencies to provide resources.”

Location Scout: St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan.