New York City is planning for a consolidation of Roosevelt Island hospital operations – probably at the Coler campus north of the Octagon Park Apartments.

The move would free land at the Goldwater campus, south of the Queensboro Bridge, for a housing project.

A spokesman for New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), James Saunders, told The WIRE in an e-mailed statement that "we are at such a preliminary stage."

But there are indications that the project is focused not just on a modernization of Island hospital facilities, but also on reclaiming the valuable land at the Goldwater site as a location for housing. It is among the most valuable large properties at the City’s disposal.

By way of background for newcomers and Fireworks visitors (who will receive this issue at the Southpoint Park gate on the Fourth of July): Roosevelt Island is owned by New York City. Most of it is leased to New York State for development as a residential community, a process that started in the mid-1970s and continues today with buildings going up just north of the Tramway station. Under the 99-year lease (through 2068), the hospital properties remain under the control of New York City. A document attached to the lease, the General Development Plan (GDP), says that the City retains control of the land on which the hospital buildings sit, out to five feet from the buildings’ outer walls.

Although Coler Hospital and Goldwater Hospital were merged into one administrative unit in 1996, in common usage the campuses retain their original names – Coler at the north end, Goldwater south of the Queensboro Bridge.

Part of the hospital consolidation project calls for an assisted-living residential tower at the north end of the Island, most likely to be built on a parking lot on the east side of Coler.

Earlier this week, City Councilmember Jessica Lappin, in whose district all of Roosevelt Island lies, had not been briefed on the project. "I heard about this from a constituent," she told The WIRE. Lappin said she was requesting a briefing for herself, State Senator José Serrano, and Assemblymember Micah Kellner.

At midweek, the president of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), the State agency that operates Roosevelt Island and holds responsibility for developing the State-controlled property on the Island, had heard nothing of this City plan, even though a PowerPoint presentation had been shown to hospital administrative staff and, shortly thereafter, a memo was given to all employees at Goldwater.

The fact that RIOC has not been brought into the discussions suggests that the City intends to hold discussions – or has already held them – at the Mayor-Governor level. Construction at Goldwater – perhaps even demolition – would likely require use of more than just the building footprint plus five feet. For that, RIOC permission would be required, and there would be questions about truck traffic hauling demolition debris and construction materials.

The idea of converting the Goldwater site to housing has been "in the wind" for years. The land is considered too valuable to continue to be used for hospitals, which do not require an Island site with spectacular views of, and ready access to, Manhattan. Indeed, according to one WIRE source, a Brooklyn site may be considered as a destination for both Coler and Goldwater operations. That would free up both Roosevelt Island sites for residential development, a fully viable idea now that the State has established a community here that is in its fourth decade.

Presumably, the City would take bids for use of the Goldwater (and perhaps Coler) properties, and a winning developer would build. Depending on the number of floors that would be allowed (towers could be taller nearer Southpoint Park and away from the Queensboro Bridge), the Goldwater site could easily accommodate 2,500-3,500 apartments or even more. The planned Southpoint Park would make apartments overlooking the south end of the Island particularly valuable, but the entire site has views that would contribute greatly to the market value of any apartments on the west side of a building.

The WIRE has been unable to learn whether the Island’s rush-hour transportation squeeze has been factored into thinking about adding residential units to the Island. Morning rush-hour passengers often find it difficult to board trains, and six of the eventual nine Southtown buildings are not yet occupied, though one has just gotten its first residents and ground has been broken for two more. The MTA has said that subway service here is operating at full capacity, and that no more trains can be pushed through the tunnel. When existing State plans for residential units are completed, the commuter load is expected to be about 40% heavier than now. If Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan goes into effect, many who presently drive into Manhattan will presumably switch to parking in Queens and taking the subways, including the F, that reach midtown and downtown areas.

There is an E-train tunnel running under Southpoint Park, and the potential for building a station there, far underground. But such an undertaking would be very costly, perhaps very difficult, and is not presently in any known plan. Other transportation options are limited: Ferry service might be considered but could probably not accommodate the passenger load that a sizable development would generate.

Some preliminary figures have been discussed. For the assisted-living tower at Coler, $666 million has been mentioned. Saunders says all such figures are only preliminary judgments and that no funding source has been identified. But the fact that the proposed project has reached the stage of having even speculative numbers attached to it suggests that it is farther along than official statements say. The income from leasing the Goldwater property to a developer would very likely cover much of the proposed work at the Coler site.

There are indications, in fact, that the City is attempting to keep a lid on this project, at least for now. When The WIRE first inquired, the Chief of Staff at Goldwater agreed to show a reporter the PowerPoint presentation that hospital administrators had seen. But she stopped returning WIRE calls and the matter was bumped up to HHC, where Saunders became the contact. At first, the agreement to show the PowerPoint presentation was withdrawn ("No, we’re not going to show you that."), even after Saunders described it as "benign." Finally, the withdrawal was withdrawn and the presentation was provided Wednesday morning.

The presentation focuses primarily on a description of the present state of both the Coler facility and the Goldwater facility, but the version provided to The WIRE ends with a major heading, "Next Steps," after which it is blank. (Each of the other major headings were followed by one to five screens.)

While a project of this magnitude – new building and renovation at Coler, then razing Goldwater, then building on the site – would take many years, some sources believe that the City administration wants the plan under way, at least in preliminary stages, while Mike Bloomberg is the City’s chief executive. Presuming Bloomberg does not resign to make an independent run for the Presidency, that’s about two and a half years.