NYU pulls out of deal to save LICH over snag with nurses union

NYU Langone Medical Center suddenly pulled out of an agreement to take over bankrupt Long Island College Hospital after a legal dispute with the state nurse’s union.

The decision by world-renowned NYU raises questions whether the site — which has been the center of a bitter three-year battle — would be able to continue offering medical services.

When he was running for City Hall last year, Mayor de Blasio pledged to maintain medical care at the Brooklyn facility and was even arrested at a protest to demonstrate his support.

NYU officials said a court decision dragging them into a lawsuit involving the New York State Nurses Association led to the withdrawal.

“We feared this [litigation] would ultimately force NYU Langone to remove the highly qualified nursing staff we had hired and constrain our ability to choose nurses who meet our standards,” CEO Robert Grossman said in a memo to staffers Friday.

NYU washed its hands of the project after Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Johnny Lee Baynes expanded an existing lawsuit to include the medical center’s role in retaining LICH’s unionized nurses.

Grossman said NYU had already hired 25 nurses who had bachelor’s degrees in nursing or emergency medicine.

But only seven came from LICH.

A top state official blasted irresponsible politicians, litigious labor leaders and a meddling judge for destroying a hard-fought deal.

“NYU has pulled out. That’s very sad,” said a frustrated Carl McCall, chairman of the State University of New York board of trustees that approved the NYU-LICH project.

“We’re regrouping. We thought we had a solid program for LICH.”

SUNY, which still owns the hospital, is spending about $ 13 million a month to keep it open.

McCall was even more incensed at local political leaders. “I’m disappointed with Sen. [Dan] Squadron, who put out a statement saying he was siding with the union.

Such action creates an environment that will deter institutions from wanting to provide services to the community,” McCall said.

The union claimed it acted because NYU was not living up to a promise to giving hiring preference to LICH nurses.

“Instead of welcoming these incredible nurse heroes, NYU tried to punish them for their activism, advocacy and devotion,” said NYSNA executive director Jill Furillo.

The hospital is bankrupt, bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars a year — with a dwindling case load.

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