Brooklyn For Downstate, a nonprofit community coalition, on Feb. 20 revealed architectural renderings of a reimagined SUNY Downstate University Hospital, proposing a modernized facility to strengthen healthcare services in the borough.
The designs, created by architecture firm NBBJ, depict an updated hospital integrated with student academic facilities at the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University on Clarkson Avenue, according to a press release.
The proposed renovations include a state-of-the-art emergency department, maternal and OB/GYN labor and delivery rooms, cardiothoracic surgical spaces, oncology services and a kidney transplant unit.
The renderings are based on a report commissioned by BFD, which was released in December 2024 and outlines recommendations to ensure the hospital’s long-term viability. The report warns that neighboring hospitals, such as Kings County Hospital, are already at or near full capacity and would struggle to absorb patients if Downstate's inpatient services were reduced or eliminated.
The push for a revitalized Downstate Hospital comes as a state-appointed advisory board continues to assess its future. The board, created under the April 2024 state budget, was tasked with making recommendations by April 1, 2025, but BFD members say the process has been slow-moving and raises concerns about plans to shift inpatient services to Kings County Hospital.
Redetha Abraham-Nichols, DNP, MRA, RN said the release of the architectural renderings was necessary due to inaction from the state-appointed advisory board. Abraham-Nichols accused the SUNY Chancellor of deliberately delaying the process with an artificial deadline while planning to significantly reduce SUNY Downstate’s inpatient services and transfer them to Kings County Hospital and other facilities.
BFD emphasized that the community cannot afford to lose these critical services and pledged to advocate for Brooklyn residents. The coalition asserted that after decades of state underinvestment, now is the time to secure the hospital’s future and ensure it meets the healthcare needs of the borough.
