Activism is the new normal when it comes to opening, closing or expanding facilities-Community groups: 'Hands off my hospital'

Crain's New York reports:

One hospital tried to close a campus and got hauled into court by disapproving locals. Another attempted to expand, but neighbors said no way.

When it comes to health care, community activism is now standard operating procedure, no matter the case's merits. There was a time when the fate of a failing hospital was decided by its own trustees or a bankruptcy judge, not politicians. If an institution wanted to expand, it contended with state regulators, building codes and land-use rules, not protesters.

But communities found their voice in the backlash against the 2010 closure of St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village. Since then, neighborhood groups have expertly aligned with politicians, taking their grievances to social media and to court.

"Everyone's fighting to protect their communities from the encroachment of these corporations, these nonprofit corporations that just don't care," said Constantine Pantazis, whose father owns a property next to a Bronx building project proposed by Montefiore Medical Center.

No property rights and contracts for you! The creepy world of the statist society.