By Sophia Chang
At a Tuesday meeting of the hospital's Joint Advisory Council, a committee comprised of community representatives to monitor the hospital's impact on the neighborhood, members contended that the conferences the hospital periodically hosts caused more traffic and parking problems in the area.The conferences, residents said, were prominently advertised on the hospital's Web site. Such conferences aggravate the area's already congested traffic problems, straining the community's resources and may be in violation of zoning rules, they said.”It's attracting people who want to get continuing education credits,” said Dr. Blanche Felton, president of John Golden Park Civic Association, made up of residents living near the hospital. “These conferences have a price tag and solicit people from all over.”Officials of the hospital, located at 29-01 216th St. in Bayside, acknowledge the conferences may bring more people to the neighborhood but say St. Mary's places a high priority on community concerns, and arranges off-site parking with shuttle service.”Occasionally we might do conferences for physicians and nurses,” said Dr. Edwin Simpser, executive vice president of the hospital. “I believe it is not unreasonable for a health-care organization to hold these conferences.”He said while the hospital earns no profit from these meetings, staff may be allowed to attend for free or at a discount.”This isn't a college,” Simpser said. “This is an educational session for our own staff.”The conferences listed on St. Mary's Web site focus on training medical staff and typically last two days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a registration cap of 50 attendees. There was one conference in November and one in December. So far this year, conferences have been scheduled for late January and mid-February.During the meeting Simpser and Felton butted heads on whether the conferences pose a problem for the neighborhood. Felton, who has successfully campaigned against the establishment of a trade school near St. Mary's in the past, said the hospital may be in violation of zoning rules if conference attendees earn continuing education credits.”You cannot run a school in a R2 district,” which is a zoning designation for low-density residential areas, Felton said. “And because you're advertising these conferences on the Web site, it's not necessarily for yourselves.”Frank Skala, president of the East Bayside Homeowners Association, suggested the hospital move the conferences to a more suitable venue, which Simpser agreed to consider.”We work very hard not to increase parking on the street,” Simpser said, pointing out the hospital has already reduced on-site staff in response to the community's complaints about parking. “We have the utmost consideration for the neighborhood.”TimesLedger Newspapers Publisher Steven Blank is the vice chairman of St. Mary's Healthcare System board of directors.Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
