First NYC Public Hospital in 40 Years Opens Sunday on Ocean Parkway

by YS Gold 

The old building known as Coney Island Hospital, situated on Ocean Parkway near Coney Island, is more than a century old—and was devastated during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. But thanks to an infusion of FEMA funds following the storm, the hospital—now known as NYC Health + /South Brooklyn Health—was able to erect a new building at the cost of close to $1 billion. 

On Tuesday afternoon, elected officials and hospital leadership gathered to inaugurate the new 11-story building named after the deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a native of Brooklyn. 

The hospital building will go into official use this coming Sunday, and will operate 140 beds and eight operating rooms.

Hospital officials said that many storm-resistant features have been built into the new building, including a flood-resistant emergency room, and a structure capable of resisting even a once-in-500-years storm. 

photo credit: Flickr