We are not sure if Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the closure of two Queens hospitals — St. John’s and Mary Immaculate — but it was on his watch that these institutions were closed.
We had the unhappy experience of having to take a friend to the emergency room at New York Hospital Queens Sept. 16. We have never seen such chaos as was evident that day. Every nook and cranny of the cubicles and hallways was occupied by patients on stretchers and in wheelchairs. We waited hours for her to be seen, even though her doctor had called ahead with instructions that she be seen immediately for evaluation of a possible stroke. It did not matter.
When we questioned any official-looking person as to why the emergency room was so crowded, all replied as if in unison, “Because Mayor Bloomberg closed two hospitals.”
This, and together with his hubris at changing the rules, is why my husband and I and many of our friends cannot agree with TimesLedger Newspapers’ endorsement of Bloomberg (“Mike Bloomberg for Re-election as Mayor of New York City,” Oct. 1.). We will instead vote for city Comptroller William Thompson for mayor.
Eileen and James Cohn
Douglaston
Editor’s note:The state made the decision to close the two Queens hospitals.
