New York Downtown Hospital To Receive $5 Million LMDC Grant

Governor David A. Paterson today joined New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, New York City Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, community leaders and hospital officials to announce the future site of the Wellness and Prevention Center at New York Downtown Hospital as well as the future purchase of the first public MRI machine in Lower Manhattan.

The $5 million grant to New York Downtown Hospital comes from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s (LMDC) Community Enhancement Fund, which awarded 35 grants in excess of $37 million in November of 2007 to support a variety of community improvements. The grant to New York Downtown Hospital is the largest of LMDC’s 35 grants and is part of $8.5 million awarded for health care purposes in Lower Manhattan. Half of the $5 million grant will go towards the purchase of an MRI machine and the other half will fund the hospital’s new Wellness and Prevention Center.

“New York Downtown Hospital serves hundreds of thousands of Lower Manhattan residents each year, providing New Yorkers with quality care as well as the ability to quickly and professionally respond to emergencies such as the World Trade Center tragedy,” said Governor Paterson. “This grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation will enhance this institution as it meets the needs of a growing population and will provide downtown residents with vital resources such as the availability of an MRI machine and a new center for diagnostic and treatment services. I applaud Speaker Silver and the LMDC for working on behalf of New Yorkers to bring these projects to fruition.”