Council Member Brad Lander Arrested During Wednesday’s LICH Protest

Council Member Brad Lander, who was honored at the White House this week for his work in participatory budgeting, was arrested on Wednesday night during a protest for Long Island College Hospital.

Along with several other activists, which included doctors, nurses, and union officials, the council member blocked the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge in a deliberate act of civil disobedience, hoping to raise public awareness of the circumstances surrounding the hospital’s impending closure.

“Today’s action highlighted the hypocrisy of the closure of LICH,” said Council Member Lander in a statement posted to his website. “That State University of New York, which manages LICH, has violated court orders and broken the law as it seeks to close this much needed, much used community hospital, all without serious legal consequences.

“Yet when the health care workers at LICH stand up for their institution,” he added, “which provides lifesaving healthcare every day, they walk away in handcuffs.”

SUNY Downstate, which owns LICH, announced plans to close the Cobble Hill hospitalin February. Vehement protests from those who say the hospital’s closure would be disastrous for area families, and even court orders spearheaded by mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio have slowed the process, but SUNY continues with their efforts to shutter the facility.

Photo via Brooklyn Daily Eagle