NewYork-Presbyterian’s Center for Community Health Set to Open in Park Slope

NewYork-Presbyterian Methodist Hospital will open a new, 400,000-square-foot outpatient facility in Park Slope on Monday, marking the end of years-long development process that at times provoked controversy and litigation from nearby residents.

The six-story Center for Community Health, as the facility at 515 6th Street is called, is set to open March 15th, and will offer ambulatory oncology, digestive, and endoscopy services, as well as an infusion center, ambulatory surgery and a diagnostic imaging center. The goal, the hospital wrote in a press release announcing the opening, is to serve as “a one-stop destination for patients to receive individualized, coordinated care from diagnosis to treatment.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for high-quality care close to home,” said Dr. Steven Corwin, NewYork-Presbyterian’s president and CEO, “and we are so pleased to expand access to our care and open this incredible resource for Brooklyn, helping residents spend less time in the hospital and more time living their lives.”

The new development, which was first announced in 2013 and is located across the street from the hospital’s existing inpatient buildings, required multiple zoning variances. The proposal prompted concerns from some neighbors and from local Council Member Brad Lander that the new building would be out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood, and that its presence could exacerbate traffic congestion.

Those concerns came to a head in 2014, when a community group formed in response to the proposal, Preserve Park Slope, filed a lawsuit challenging a zoning variance granted by the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals. As part of the resulting settlement, the hospital agreed to changes in the size and configuration of the building, and to develop and implement a traffic management plan for the block.

The resulting building features a sleek lobby, local art and leafy views of the surrounding neighborhood. It will also make use of several new technologies, ranging from a personalized patient “smartband” that provides access to the building to a diagnostic imaging center with an MRI machine, a digital PET/CT system and two 4D ultrasound machines.

“The center offers patients a convenient single destination for all of their medical needs, a beacon for maintaining good health and well-being,” said Dr. Augustine Choi, the dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, whose physicians will help staff the site. “We are proud to work with our esteemed partner NewYork-Presbyterian to continue our vital work ensuring the best medical care is accessible throughout the city, as we strive for health equity in all communities.”

For a full list of services offered at the new facility, you can visit the Center’s website.