CB3 Resolution: Rivington House (Jan. 2016)

THE CITY OF NEW YORK MANHATTAN COMMUNITY BOARD 3 5 9 E a s t 4 t h S tr e e t - N e w Y o r k , N Y 10 0 0 3 Phone (212) 533-5300 - Fax (212) 533-3659 w w w . c b 3 m a n h a t t a n . o r g - i n f o @ c b 3 ma n h a t t a n . o r g Gigi Li, Board Chair

Susan Stetzer, District Manager

January 27, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio City Hall New York, NY 10007 Dear Mayor de Blasio, At its January 2016 monthly meeting, Community Board 3 passed the following resolution: VOTE: Resolution to support the continued use of Rivington House as a much needed community facility with support for the 219 Rivington House nursing home beds to remain in CB 3 WHEREAS, in October 2014 Community Board 3 Manhattan supported the conversion of Rivington House from an AIDs nursing home facility to a general nursing home facility; and WHEREAS, Community Board 3 and elected officials and community residents worked very hard to advocate for the 219 nursing home beds at this location to replace the many nursing home beds lost in CB 3; and WHEREAS, in October 2014 CB 3 stated its support for the nursing facility as support by the board for its community facilities in general, especially those that serve the underserved who are the most vulnerable of our residents; and WHEREAS, CB 3 stated its support for people without the financial or other ability to receive home care, and in need of both short term and long term care, should be able to remain in their community, supported by friends and family; and WHEREAS, Rivington House was originally a school sold by the City to VillageCare with a restrictive deed that required the facility to remain a nonprofit nursing home in perpetuity, and VillageCare sold the same facility to The Allure Group with the same deed restriction and now the City (Department of Administrative Services-DCAS-) in November 2015 has sold the lifting of the deed restriction for payment of $16 million to the City without any guarantee of replacing the nursing home beds within the neighborhood and serving the same population and without guarantee for use of the facility at 45 Rivington as a needed community benefit; and WHEREAS, this action to lift the deed restriction occurred out of public view, with a total lack of transparency and without fair or reasonable public notice to CB 3, local elected officials and other community stakeholders; and

WHEREAS, this lack of transparency is especially egregious since those stakeholders were the interested parties involved in the October 2014 effort to preserve Rivington House as a general nursing home and preserve the maximum number of beds; so THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, CB 3 calls on the City to disclose information as to what transpired with respect to this transaction, and CB 3 calls on the City to explore options to reverse this decision immediately; so THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, CB 3 adamantly opposes any potential conversion of Rivington House to free market housing or private commercial use, as has been made possible by the lifting of the deed restriction; so THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, CB 3 believes that the City (DCAS) should not have sold off the deed restriction without guarantee of the nursing home beds being replaced in the community and the facility remaining as a benefit for the community; so THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, CB 3 must be involved in any transition or change to the Rivington House facility, which was first a school, then an AIDS Nursing Home, and finally a general nursing home facility. Furthermore, this facility should not be sold for private use, which would not benefit the community, but should remain a facility that serves the underserved and most vulnerable; so THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, CB 3 believes without question that, if the Administration, elected officials and stakeholders have exhausted all available efforts to reverse this action and the transaction ultimately goes forward, the 219 nursing homes beds that existed in Rivington House nursing facility should be replaced within CB 3 to mitigate the loss of many nursing home beds in the last several years.

Please contact the community board office with any questions.

Sincerely,

Gigi Li, Chair Community Board 3

Cc:

Vaylateena Jones, Chair Health, Seniors, and Human Services Committee

Lisette Camilo, Commissioner, Citywide Administrative Services Mauricio Pazmino, Office of New York State Senator Daniel Squadron Vincent Fang, Office of New York City Council Member Margaret Chin Andrew Lombardi, Office of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer Tommy Lin, Mayor’s Office Community Affairs Unit