Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan

A state Supreme Court judge on Monday cleared the way for the Mount Sinai Health System to close Beth Israel in Downtown Manhattan, after the move was put on hold for months at the behest of a community coalition seeking to save the hospital.

Judge Jeffrey Pearlman dismissed a lawsuit filed in August by a community coalition challenging the closing. Following the judge’s decision, Mount Sinai spokesperson Loren Riegelhaupt said the health system would “immediately” begin implementing the closure plan, which was first announced in fall 2023 and was initially planned for July 2024.

“We will shortly set a final closing date that allows enough time to ramp down the facility and ensure a seamless and safe transfer of services, patients, and staff, and we will carefully adhere to [Department of Health] guidelines and regulations,” Riegelhaupt said.

Mount Sinai later set a final closing date following the court's decision: March 26 at 11:59 p.m., according to an internal memo from hospital leadership to staff.

The coalition seeking to save Beth Israel argued in the lawsuit that the state Department of Health’s approval of the closure plan last July was arbitrary and capricious. Pearlman initially granted a temporary restraining order that forced Beth Israel to stay open. But he ruled Monday that the health department did its due diligence in evaluating the plan and acted in accordance with state law.

Arthur Schwartz, a lawyer for the group that sued to save Beth Israel, said he would appeal the decision and seek a new stay on the closure within 24 hours.

“We are more than disappointed,” Schwartz said in a statement, adding that the judge “did not address the wholly inadequate and inaccurate assessment of the impact of the Beth Israel closure.”

The battle over Beth Israel has dragged on since late 2023, when Mount Sinai announced plans to shut down the 135-year-old hospital because of a declining patient census and crippling financial losses. The move faced significant pushback from local residents and politicians.

Despite the opposition, the hospital quickly began reducing services in the months that followed, prior to getting the necessary state approval to close. Beth Israel executives argued that the loss of staff that resulted from the initial closure announcement necessitated an accelerated timeline.

The state health department ordered Beth Israel to pump the breaks on closing beds and services in a cease-and-desist letter in December 2023, but service reductions continued.

In March, the agency issued a report showing Beth Israel’s unapproved service reductions had delayed lifesaving care for patients.

A month later, state health officials rejected Beth Israel’s closure plan as incomplete, requesting the hospital show evidence that it was working with other medical centers to ensure they had the capacity to treat displaced patients.

Mount Sinai in its updated plan vowed to provide funding to Bellevue to renovate its emergency department and purchase new equipment. The health system said it is also planning to open a new urgent care center two blocks south of Beth Israel, which Riegelhaupt said would coincide with the hospital’s closure.

This story has been updated with new information.