East Side Overload: Hospital, Traffic Need Room

New York Post—August 11, 2008

According to columnist Julia Vitullo-Martin, the City Commission’s expected decision to allow Hospital for Special Surgery’s planned expansion over FDR Drive at 72nd street is a good one, in spite of concerns about traffic.

The expansion is clearly in New York's interest. HSS is repeatedly rated as the finest orthopedic hospital in the country - yet it functions in overcrowded, cramped conditions,” Vitullo-Martin notes. The expansion would yield 28 added patient beds, six new inpatient operating rooms and three new ambulatory-surgery operating rooms.”

However, Vitullo-Martin adds, HSS should address the rising traffic congestion in the area as part of its building plans, perhaps by incorporating a truck loading bay into the plans before construction actually begins on the expansion.

The City Commission is expected to vote on the proposed expansion Aug. 11.

Read the full article at nypost.com.