SUNY Downstate Will Get Funding From State to Save Hospital

By Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper

The state will invest $550 million in SUNY Downstate this year, according to Governor Kathy Hochul, including the second half of a $750 million capital investment to ensure the hospital’s long-term future.

Hochul’s proposed executive budget for Fiscal Year 2026 includes $100 million for operations and $450 million in capital funding for the cash-strapped hospital in East Flatbush, which was nearly forced to close last year. The budget was released on January 21, a day before the first public hearing with the SUNY Downstate Community Advisory Board, a body created to assess the hospital’s needs and advise the state on how best to spend money on the facility.

Last January, Hochul ordered SUNY Downstate to come up with a plan to keep itself above water. After years of underfunding and management issues, the hospital was facing a massive budget deficit and various issues too expensive to address. But the plan created by SUNY and state officials would likely have forced SUNY Downstate — the only state-run hospital in New York City — to close entirely, which healthcare workers warned could lead to worse patient care and layoffs.

After months of protest, Hochul in April 2024 committed to keeping the hospital open. She allocated $400 million to SUNY Downstate in the 2024 budget, and said she would create a Community Advisory Board to study its needs, take public feedback, and create an in-depth report with recommendations to keep it open and running long-term. The $300 million dedicated to capital improvements in 2024 was withheld until after the board’s report is released on April 1, 2025, the first day of the 2026 fiscal year. The board will then decide how to spend the combined $750 million in capital funding.

“The Downstate Community Advisory Board has begun the critical work of helping to secure the long-term fiscal stability of SUNY Downstate,” Hochul said in a statement. “These public hearings are an essential step in engaging the Central Brooklyn community and building a sustainable plan that ensures SUNY Downstate continues to deliver health care in its community and train a diverse health care workforce for generations to come.”

Union leaders celebrated the funding, but said the state should have waited for the board’s report — which will include public input submitted at three hearings — to decide how much it was willing to spend on capital improvements.

Frederick Kowal, president of United University Professionals, which represents thousands of SUNY employees, said he hoped the $550 million was a “placeholder” that could be changed if the board determines more funding is needed.

“Public input will determine how much will be necessary to meet the long-term needs of Downstate hospital,” Kowal said in a statement. “That’s what should drive the amount that will be needed … otherwise, you’re essentially reverse-engineering the health care needs of the community by forcing them into an artificial and pre-determined cost range.”

The hospital will require a “large investment,” he added, after two decades of underfunding.

In a series of statements, board members said they looked forward to the hearings, and said that public input would shape the body’s recommendations and the eventual larger investment.

“Every day we come to the hospital, our main priority is providing the best care for the patients we serve,” said board member Dr. Enitza George. “And to build a sustainable hospital that continues to provide the best care to our neighborhood, the community will have an important role in guiding how we invest the historic $750 million, starting with these public hearings.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

Related Stories

• State Budget Agreement Keeps SUNY Downstate Hospital Open
• Possible SUNY Downstate Closure Brings Healthcare Workers, Pols Out in Protest
• Yet Another Brooklyn Hospital in Trouble

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