This morning before I could read it in the Times I heard on WNYC that NYU Langone was getting a billion dollars to build a flood wall against the East River and in general fix things up.
What got me is that the Langone name is now indelibly linked to what was the NYU Hospital thanks for the $200 million he gave to replace the Sandy flooded emergency room – it is now always NYU Langone that is, until NYU gets somebody to give them more money.
Langone was born in Roslyn Heights of working class Catholic parents. He worked himself through school even graduate business night school at NYU and is best know for being a partner of Home Depot – he is of course a multi billionaire and he was being treated in the hospital for pneumonia when Sandy happened which may explain his passionate involvement.
OK now to the Times article by hospital specialist Anemona Hartocollis:
The grant is for $1.13 billion but they are looking for a little more to replace the mice lab (the vivarium) since thousands of mice died in the flood and if they get the extra money and Schumer says “were getting close” they will have received the highest single grant from FEMA and FEMA has only $50 billion to spread around.
But wait, not only will they get the grant but it will be in a single check no questions asked – normally the money is slowly dolled out as you complete the tasks.
Hmm, how come they got such a sweetheart deal? Well, Anemona gives us a hint “Some NYU Langone faculty members criticized Mr. Langone for soliciting campaign contributions from them for Mr. Schumer and two other elected officials who helped pass the relief bill, Representative Peter T. K a Long Island Republican and Representative Eric Cantor a Virginia Republican who was the House majority leader.”
Which makes me think, if Schumer can get a billion dollars to build a sea wall and a mouse a torium for a flood that may never happen why couldn’t he get $500 million to save St. Vincent’s?
But wait – he can still get us funding for a medical electronics research center and a hospital with a for real emergency room and yes, I will send him and any Republican he designates a campaign check.
