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Queens hospitals ask borough leaders for millions for imaging, infrastructure and behavioral‑health spaces
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Summary
Several Queens hospitals urged the Queens Borough Board to support FY27 capital funding for imaging equipment, clinical spaces and critical infrastructure—including requests from Elmhurst for a PET/CT ($5M) and therapeutic terraces ($6.5M), and a roughly $19.6M package from NYC Health + Hospitals Queens.
Elmhurst Hospital, Queens Hospital and several community health sites used the Borough Board budget hearing to press for capital investments they say are necessary to maintain services and avoid transfers of care.
"Elmhurst Hospital is a vital part of the fabric of our beloved borough of Queens," Elena Moran, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Elmhurst, told Borough President staff. She outlined four priority projects for FY27: acquisition of a PET/CT scanner ($5,000,000) to stop routine transfers for advanced imaging; construction of two outdoor therapeutic terraces for inpatient adult behavioral‑health patients ($6,500,000); completion of lobby and entrance renovations (hospital has secured $5.8M but requested an additional $5,000,000 to cover structural and inflationary cost increases); and upgrades to cesarean operating suites and related equipment ($4,000,000). Moran said Elmhurst treated almost 800,000 outpatient visits last year and delivered about 2,500 babies, and that the projects would improve diagnostic accuracy, patient flow and behavioral‑health outcomes.
At NYC Health + Hospitals Queens, a presenter described a package of infrastructure upgrades totaling about $19.6 million. The list included $6.1M to replace aging nuclear medicine cameras, $2.2M to expand the pneumatic tube system (10 new stations) to reduce specimen‑transport delays, $1M to modernize freight elevators that deliver critical supplies, $520,000 to replace 100 end‑of‑life vital‑sign monitors, $208,000 for portable ultrasound units, $5M to replace outdated electrical switchgear, $4.5M for window replacement and $150,000 for ductless split unit replacement in inpatient psychiatric units. The speaker warned that failures of electrical or temperature‑control systems could cause “major disruption of our patient care operations.”
Gotham Health requested $6.3M across four projects to strengthen outpatient capacity tied to chronic‑disease management. Nash Dunlap, Gotham Health communications lead, asked for $2.5M for a dental expansion at Roosevelt, $1.2M to modernize a critical elevator to meet ADA access needs, $200,000 to build a confidential consultation room, and $2.4M to renovate an eye and dental suite including 3D imaging.
Other hospital requests heard included Flushing Hospital’s ask for a Mako robotic orthopedic system and a remaining balance (about $1.56M) to complete a biplane interventional imaging room to treat stroke patients, and Mount Sinai Queens’ $841,000 request for a new mammography machine.
The presenters framed most requests as investments in safety, timeliness and equity—pointing to high patient volumes, aging mechanical and diagnostic fleets, and the clinical consequences of delays in imaging or equipment failure. No formal decisions were taken at the hearing; requests will be considered as the borough delegation and council members finalize FY27 funding priorities ahead of the June budget adoption.
