Coney Island Celebrates Return Of Health Center Destroyed By Sandy
Almost two-and-half years after it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, the Ida G. Israel Community Health Center has returned to Coney Island’s west end.
In spite of booming thunder and torrential rain that flooded neighborhoods throughout the city, numerous politicians joined more than 100 residents and community leaders on Wednesday morning for the center’s rededication ceremony.
“After what we went through with Sandy, a little rain is not going to take away from today’s event,” the neighborhood’s city councilman, Mark Treyger, told the crowd gathered under an expansive white tent outside the center. “When I ran for office, I cannot tell you how time and time again, I heard from residents throughout this community how important it is to have Ida G. back.”
Residents insisted the Ida G. Israel Center reopen in the community. Before Sandy struck, the center received more than 40,000 visits a year and provided critical medical, dental, drug rehab, and mental health services. The new location at 2925 West 19th Street, which will begin operating in late August, is built less than half a mile from the original site.
Almost 30 relatives of Ida Israel, the community activist and leader who pushed for a health clinic in the west end of Coney Island, attended the event.
“My grandmother was the one who envisioned providing quality healthcare to people, regardless of their ability to pay,” said Israel’s granddaughter Susan Gold. “That it was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy, I know my grandmother would have been the first one lined up to rebuild and envision an even better clinic.”
FEMA provided $7.5 million in funding to construct the 13,000-square-foot facility. The roof, walls, and windows are built to withstand a hurricane, and the one-story building is elevated above FEMA’s floodplain predictions for the next 100 years.
The new building, operated by Coney Island Hospital, will be sustained through revenue and funding from the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporations (HHC), said Coney Island Hospital’s chief medical officer John Maese.
City Councilman Corey Johnson, who represents neighborhoods in western Manhattan and chairs the Committee on Health, praised Coney Island Hospital for expanding access to health services in southern Brooklyn, even while 13 hospitals in New York City have closed down.
“The measurement of a first-world country, a good society, is the health of its people and the healthcare services that are offered in a local community.” he said. “I think the Ida G. Israel Community Health Center reopening shows HHC’s commitment to Coney Island, shows the activism of Coney Island, and the spirit of this amazing woman, Ida G. Israel.”
Other officials at the ceremony included State Assemblyman William Colton, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna, and State Senator Diane Savino.
“Not only did [Hurricane Sandy] destroy the center, but it cut a hole in the heart of the people of Coney Island,” Savino said. “And after that time, it was the people of Coney Island and the Community Advisory Board who made sure that after rebuilding, this facility would come back on the peninsula.”