UPDATED, 8:22 p.m., May 5: The State University of New York today rejected Brooklyn Health Partners Development Group, a partnership that includes Merrell Schexnydre and Chaim Miller, as the team to redevelop the Long Island College Hospital campus in Cobble Hill, the school said in a statement to the media.
Brooklyn Health was the top bidder in a selection process led by SUNY, but the school said it was “unable to execute a satisfactory contract agreement with BHP.”
The statement continued: “SUNY remains unwavering in its commitment to protecting community health care services and a viable long-term solution for LICH. Therefore SUNY is moving forward with the second-highest scoring proposal consistent with the Request for Proposal and the court-ordered settlement,” the statement said.
The runner up group is led by the Peebles Corporation, led by CEO Don Peebles.
“The Peebles Corporation and the Witkoff Group, along with our respected team of healthcare providers – Maimonides Medical Center, North Shore-LIJ Health System, ProHEALTH, and the Institute for Family Health – look forward to engaging with SUNY to redevelop the LICH campus and assure uninterrupted access to a broad array of healthcare services focused on meeting the needs of the surrounding communities,” the Peebles Corp. said in a statement.
Brooklyn Health, which deposited $25 million in bank checks with a clerk in Brooklyn’s State Supreme Court, said it would continue to fight for its development plan.
“BHP is currently meeting with its attorneys to determine its next course of action,” Brooklyn Health said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed that for the last 30 days SUNY has failed to negotiate in good faith. Despite SUNY’s failure to produce important documents until late this weekend, BHP produced all requested documents and a 10 percent down payment to close.”