In Brooklyn on Wednesday, hundreds took part in mock funeral services for local healthcare that ended in multiple arrests.
Two hospitals in the borough currently face closure – Long Island College Hospital (LICH) and Interfaith Medical Center. On the day of the funeral, in which hundreds of mourners carried cardboard coffins over the Brooklyn Bridge, staff at LICH received pink slips. The State University of New York has sought to sell the hospital off, potentially to a real-estate developer or a for-profit entity.
The grievers Wednesday called on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to give the care centers an injection of cash and to step in to prevent their closure.
Meanwhile, workers slated to be laid-off formed a motorcade that impeded Manhattan bound rush-hour traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge for several minutes as their counterparts on the pedestrian walkway above cheered them on.
Traffic was again blocked later in the day when caregivers and local elected officials sat down on the Manhattan entrance of the bridge. Ten arrests were made.
The demonstration was organized by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and 1199SEIU. In a press release, NYSNA warned that "health disparities in Brooklyn are climbing at an alarming rate," adding: "Low income communities, people of color, and the uninsured have fewer and fewer options for receiving care. Interfaith Medical Center is the only full-service hospital in Bed-Stuy, a federally designated healthcare provider shortage area. Meanwhile, SUNY's unlawful attempts to close LICH have created chaos for patients throughout Brooklyn, increasing ER wait times and putting lives at risk."
Brooklyn's crisis is not an isolated one, as healthcare is flatlining across the country. The Affordable Care Act and the White House-Congress sequester deal have imposed some $10 billion in cuts to funds and subsidies hospitals receive for treating their poorest patients.
The message coming out of Wednesday's civil disobedience was clear: Block our access to healthcare, we'll block your roads. Shut down our hospitals, we'll shut down your city.
Read more on the fight for Brooklyn's hospitals here.
Video shot by Anthony Perez and Atiq Zabinski, with editing by Raven Rakia.
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