Extension to UES hospital meets opposition from nearby residents

A 261-foot-tall extension planned for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on the Upper East Side would provide space for a new outpatient surgery center and help around 60 patients a day, DNAinfo reported, but nearby residents are arguing that it would also block their light and affect their quality of life significantly.

Residents in the adjacent co-op building, at 440 East 62nd Street, say the 172,000-square-foot expansion would block the light to 57 of the property’s 144 apartments, increase neighborhood traffic and reduce their property values.

“The hospital is supposed to help make people feel better,” one resident said. “What about our health? It will be like we’re living in a basement on the sixth floor.”

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Sloan-Kettering’s new facility at York Avenue and East 62nd Street would have 12 operating rooms in total, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, according to the plans.

“While we understand that the residents of 440 East 62nd Street are concerned over their loss of views and light, this would be the case with any as-of-right development, unrelated to our building requests,” a Sloan-Kettering spokesperson said. [DNAinfo]