02/25/11 Five Years Ago Today The True Blue Conservative Review Was Going After Fraud Waste In Abuse In The Port Chester Building Department

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ABOUT UNITED HOSPITAL


TWEET TWEET TWEET
BART DIDDEN SINGS LIKE A CANARY
AT FEDERAL DEPOSITION



BASTA LENNY BASTA LENNY



NEW YORK RULES THAT BART DIDDEN SET UP AN
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LOGAN FLUSHES 1.2 MILLION DOWN THE DRAIN
AS REPUBLICAN PARTY INSIDERS GET RICH
ON FAILED VOTING RIGHTS CASE



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KA CHING KA CHING KA CHING FOR ADVANCED PRINTING ...... THE FAT MAN IS LIVING LARGE ...... SAM TERENZI ORDERS SUPPLIES FROM HIS OWN PRINTING COMPANY WITHOUT COMPETITIVE BIDS ..... PROPERTY TAX PAYERS ARE STUCK WITH THE BILL


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Before Port Chester Mayor Pila's Administration Started Uncovering Fraud Waste And Abuse In Port Chester, The TRUE BLUE CONSRVATIVE REVIEW Was Reporting On The Problem

Here Is Today's Reprint Of The
TRUE BLUE CONSERVATIVE REVIEW
As Delivered In Port Chester On February 25, 2004

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February 25, 2004

THE TRUE BLUE CONSERVATIVE REVIEW

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Let's Put An End To The
Fraud Waste And Abuse In

Port Chester

=================================

CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTO: Port Chester Village Attorney Mario DeMarco Couldn't Find Any Fraud Waste And Abuse When He Investigated Port Chester Building Inspector Lenny Cusamano And The Massive BMW Service Center On Midland Avenue.

We need Port Chester Mayor Gerald Logan and the Port Chester Board of Trustees headed by Trustee Daniel Colangelo to establish wide-ranging efforts to detect and eliminate fraud in Port Chester government.

Every taxpaying homeowner knows that ftaud increases the taxes that they have to pay to the Village of Port Chester.

Fraud also drains the general fund of the village and steals ftom the residents of Port Chester.

Moreover, fraud causes vital village services to be cut.

Not many homeowners are aware that Port Chester Mayor Gerald Logan and the Village Board

of Trustees headed by Trustee Dan Colangelo have voted to cut the weekly trash pickup.

Why is the weekly trash pickup going to be cut?

Because the Port Chester Mayor Gerald Logan and Board of Trustees headed by Trustee Dan

Colangelo say they don't have the $150,000 need to pay the men to do the weekly pickup.

That's right; Mayor Gerald Logan and the Board of Trustees headed by Trustee Dan Colangelo

have voted that the weekly trash pick up will be cut to twice a month.

This is new Port Chester service cut is scheduled to happen couple of months after the villaee elections in March.

This is why Mayor Gerald Logan and the Board of Trustees headed by Trustee Dan Colangelo

must direct all of the Port Chester Village departments and agencies to set up anti-ftaud measures.

All of the taxpaying homeowners expect that Mayor Gerald Logan and the Board of Trustees

headed by Trustee Dan Colangelo will use their hard earned tax dollars wisely, efficiently and

fairly. Every taxpaying homeowner knows that those who deftaud the village increase costs and

rob citizens of vital services, like weekly trash pickups.

Mayor Gerald Logan and the Board of Trustees headed by Trustee Dan Colangelo could target

fraud in Port Chester Government by directing all village departments and agencies to:

• Develop their own anti-ftaud measures and report those efforts to Village Treasurer and Clerk Anthony Siligato by March 1, 2006.

• Designate a staff member to implement ftaud prevention and ftaud elimination activities. Identify policy and organizational changes and provide a set of recommendations for the

Port Chester Board of Trustees need to improve fraud detection and prosecution efforts.

Anthony Siligato, who is the Port Chester Village Treasurer and clerk could be,

designated the village-wide anti-fraud coordinator.

Mr. Siligato would be the new Anti-Fraud Czar of Port Chester.

The first thing Village Clerk and Treasurer Anthony Siligato should do is prioritize his anti-fraud efforts in the Port Chester Building Department which is headed by Leonard Cusamano.

Then Anthony Siligato could order all Port Chester village departments and agencies to pursue

all anti-fraud steps - including seeking both civil and criminal penalties in appropriate cases.

This new anti-fraud program could utilize the rarely used Port Chester Ethics Board which is

already responsible for punishing village officials and employees who defaud the village.

The Port Chester Ethics Board could change its name to the Port Chester Office of Inspector General.

Just like the IRS, the Port Chester Office of Inspector General could set up a special phone line

and offer a reward of 10% to any Port Chester employee or resident who reported fraud.

For example, let's hypothetically say that some village mechanics were using the village garage

facilities and village owned car parts to repair their own vehicles and the vehicles of their friends

and family.

Now if a Port Chester resident or employee was to report this to the new Port Chester

Office of Inspector General, then they could then apply to get 10% of any monies that were

recovered from these mechanics, as well as, any funds recovered from their friends and family.

Who knows a village employee or resident just might become Port Chester's first instant

millionaire by reporting on the fraud in the village of Port Chester.

Don't worry about how to staff this new Office of Port Chester Inspector General, there are

thousands and thousands of Port Chester homeowners who are paying way more than their fair

share of taxes. because of fraud in the village.

Hundreds of these overly taxed homeowners will gladly volunteer to fight this fraud.

The residents of Port Chester are so sick and tired of fraud in the village of Port Chester, you will have a waiting list hundreds of unfairly taxed homeowners, who are ready, willing able to find and punish fraud in the village of Port Chester.

By starting this Port Chester Office of Inspector General you will send a clear message to those

who are defrauding the village and its taxpayers: "We are coming after vou."

By being more vigilant in eliminating fraud, the Village Of Port Chester will have more money

for the critical services it provides to taxpayers without creating a greater burden on Port Chester

families.

It is time for a change.

Fraud needs to be eliminated from Port Chester government.

It's not the fraud we know about that worries the taxpaying homeowners of Port Chester, but

rather the fraud that has yet to be uncovered.

The Office of Port Chester Inspector General will help ensure that

dollars paid by taxpayers are used efficiently and responsibly, and will

give the people of Port Chester greater trust in their government.

Copyright (C) - True Blue Conservative Review - 2004

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Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to PortChesterRoundup@gmail.com

02/10/09 The Raw Port Chester News Feed (Update 2) New Blog Post

This Just In .....

My Rye: TWIGs for Breakfast By myrye According to the Annual Report of the Board of Managers of United Hospital, Port Chester, NY, for the year ending October 1, 1911, the president wrote: "A sewing circle has been formed among the ladies of Rye, with Mrs. Van Wyck Wickes ... My Rye - http://www.myrye.com/

---

Please send your news tips and comments to PortChesterRoundup@gmail.com

12/02/07 - The Region Still Struggles, Because Of The Loss Of United Hospital

Fairfield County:

Hospital uses least Medicaid funds; Officials say few willing to apply
Norwalk Advocate
... includes the Medicaid patients who began coming to Greenwich Hospital after a major medical center in Port Chester, N.Y., closed three years ago. The statistics reflect the area's affluence and show that some poor, uninsured patients who might ...

Westchester County:

An institution grows
Journal News
... important safety net.' Since the closure of St. Agnes Hospital in White Plains in 2003 and United Hospital in Port Chester in 2005, that safety net has gotten smaller and White Plains Hospital has felt the pinch. Since 2003, its emergency room ...

11/26/07 - Thanks To Ex-Long Time United Hospital Chairman Bruno Gioffre Port Chester's Loss Is White Plain's Gain

The hospital is a bedrock institution that White Plains Residents would never trade for a hotel.

White Plains Hospital Center plans $50M expansion

Journal News

WHITE PLAINS - Midway through a major renovation, White Plains Hospital Center last week announced another - a $50 million-plus reconstruction that will move the hospital's main entrance to Maple Avenue and add 85,000 square feet of new operating rooms, maternity wards and radiology labs.

The project would come on top of other renovations costing $150 million in the past 15 years, including the continuing reconstruction of the hospital's emergency room suite, and could be followed by another round of rebuilding a few years from now, said Jon Schandler, the hospital's president.....

... United Hospital in Port Chester - closed in the past four years, Schandler said in presenting the plan to the Common Council last week. Annual emergency room ...

....The bulk of the new construction would occur on Davis Avenue, where an administration building known as Winslow Hall would be demolished and replaced with a six-story wing of maternity, operating and radiology rooms. On Maple Avenue, a glassy, two-story entrance and a traffic circle would be built. On Post Road, an elevated, enclosed walkway would cross over Longview Avenue to connect the hospital with a municipal parking garage that is now under construction.

The renovation will add 24 beds in single rooms, but the bed count will not change because 24 existing rooms will be converted from doubles to singles, allowing the hospital to stay within its licensed capacity of 277 beds.....

10/10/07 - Are More Condos A Good Bet For Port Chester. Starwood Has $3 billion Of Outstanding Debt In A Declining Real Estate Market (Ratted BBB)

Fitch Ratings Assigns 'BBB-' to Starwood's $400MM Sr Notes Issue

(Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)

NEW YORK----Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BBB-' rating to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s 6.25% $400 million senior notes due 2013. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The notes rank equally with Starwood's other unsecured and unsubordinated debt.


Read More...

Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for hotels of new york

Comment:

What does a BBB rating mean?

BBB (Rating Definitions) - ...The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse changes in circumstances and in economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment-grade category.

Bruno Gioffre is once again bringing Port Chester a bad condo project.

First was the Castle, which is now wants to change to rental apartments and is looking for a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) Deal. Plus Bruno wants to add apartments and increase the density of the project.

Then there was the Mariner which wants an extention.

Now here are more Condos at the United Hospital Site.

Bruno Gioffre is going to make a lot of money bringing all of these Massive Multi - Family Apartment Buildings to Port Chester and you are going to get the massive school tax bill.

10/08/07 - Hotel-condo project eyed for United Hospital site in Port Chester

Massive Multifamily Buildings Bring Density To An Already Over Burdened School System.

“People - partly empty nesters, partly young professionals - like the carefree lifestyle of living in a luxury condo with all of the amenities of a full-service, high-end hotel within walking distance of their home.”

First came The Plaza in New York City, then the Ritz-Carlton in White Plains. Now, Port Chester may be poised for its own hotel-condominium complex on the vacant New York United Hospital Medical Center property ... blah ...blah .... blah ....

Not So Full Story Or Should We Say Full OF It Story: The Journal News

COMMENT:

You won’t read this in the hopelessly biased We$tmore $nooze…..

The hopelessly biased We$tmore $nooze did not give you all the facts about Brookchester, Wellington Green, The Castle or The Mariner.

Way To Go Aldo….Massive Multi - family Condo Building To Bring More Density To An Already Over Burdened Port Chester School System.

Aldo “The Patronage Boy” Vitagliano is involved with bringing a Hotel And Massive Multi-Family Condo Building Complex on the vacant New York United Hospital Medical Center property on Boston Post Road.

Thank you, ALDO "THE PATRONAGE BOY" VITAGLIANO.

Just what Port Chester needs is another massive multi-family condo building to raise school taxes even more.

This year's 13 1/2% increase in school taxes is killing Port Chester Homeowners.

Brook chester, Wellington Green, The Castle, The Mariner and now Aldo "The Patronage Boy" Vitagliano brings us more of Bruno Gioffre's condos at the old United Hospital site.

Why isn't Bart "The Bigot" Didden screaming about all of the density that these massive multi-family apartment building is going to bringing to Port Chester?

Aldo “The Parsonage Boy” Vitagliano and the Bruno Gioffre's Developers Are Going To Increase Your School Tax Bill.

Well it's just about time for a 75 Million dollar school bond to build a new school, because of these Massive Multi- Family Condo Buildings.

Maybe we should name the school the Aldo "The Patronage Boy" Vitagliano elementary school.

Port Chester has to put an end to these Massive Multi – Family Condo buildings.Residents are starting to experience a tunnel effect as they drive around the village.

Brookchester, Wellington Green, The Castle and the Mariner all use the "empty nester" code word to describe their projects. This is done to try and fool the single family homeowners of Port Chester. The developers all argue that these massive multifamily condo buildings are not going to affect the schools, but no developers will not guarantee you that their buildings will not send school taxes even higher.

If Aldo "The Patronage Boy" Vitagliano, Bruno Gioffree and Starwood want this massive multifamily condo building, then let them pay the cost of educating any children that live there.

Let Aldo "The patronage Boy" Vitagliano, Bruno Gioffre and Starwood pay to build the new elementary school that Port Chester is going to need for Brookchester, Wellington Green, The Castle and the Mariner.

Has Brookchester, Wellington Green, The Castle and The Mariner Developments Reduced Your School And Property Taxes?

08/21/07 - Thomas F. Egan Of Port Chester Apointed To 17-Member Congestion Pricing Panel.

HEADLINE:


Congestion Pricing Panel Named


STORY:


Governor Spitzer: former First Deputy Mayor Marc Shaw, Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris, and Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Director and CEO Elliot "Lee" Sander........



......Thomas F. Egan was appointed Chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees on February 8, 1996, and a member and Vice Chairman on June 27, 1995. A lawyer and banker, he has spent over 30 years in the securities industry, with extensive experience in capital market finance. Mr. Egan is a managing director at Citigroup Global Markets in New York City. Previously, Mr. Egan was a principal in Langdon P. Cook & Company, Inc., for twelve years and a staff attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for three years. Mr. Egan is the past chairman of the Foundation for the New York United Hospital Medical Center and active in civic affairs. He has also served as a member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a trustee of Marymount College, and member of the Port Chester Village Planning Commission......

In compliance with copyright and fair use standards, this story has been truncated. Please click on the Source URL link below to read the entire story.

Full story: Village Voice

08/12/07 - Andrew John Laska 1964 - 2007

HEADLINE:

Good bye old friend…

STORY:

OBITUARY

ANDREW JOHN LASKA - 42 died Friday, August 10, 2007 at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital of congestive heart failure.He was born November 10, 1964 in United Hospital in Port Chester, NY to Jennie Laska and the late Frank M. Laska.

Andrew attended Glenville School and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1982.
He was a HAM radio operator and enjoyed building and flying radio controlled model airplanes, fishing, gardening and cooking. He is survived by his mother Jennie, brothers Frank (Margaret) and Stephan.

Friends may call from 2-4PM and 7-9PM on Monday, August 13, 2007 at the Castiglione Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Avenue, Greenwich, CT where services will be held 10AM on Tuesday, August 14, 2007. Cremation will be private.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Port Chester, Rye, Rye Brook Emergency Medical Service or a charity of choice.

Source: My Daily Rant - http://tomalessi.com/wordpress

Publication Date: August 12, 2007

Reporter: Tom Alessi

Source URL: http://tomalessi.com/wordpress/?p=73

August 02, 2007 Port Chester News

Evelyn Balarezo of Port Chester

Girls plug in to science during weeklong retreat

By The Journal News

Most kids do not get to play Nintendo Wii and make cabbage smoothies as part of their summer camp experience.

EX.I.T.E. - or Exploring Interests in Technology and Engineering -Camp, a weeklong retreat run by IBM for middle school-age girls, is the exception. EX.I.T.E. Camp, held at the T.J. Watson Research Center, is part of a global initiative by IBM to interest more young women in science and engineering careers. Yesterday, the 29 girls, chosen from Yonkers, Port Chester and Ossining based on their math and science aptitude.....

Full Story: Journal News

======================

Commuters can discuss fare increase proposed for Metro-North's New Haven line trains

By The Journal News

A proposed fare increase for New Haven line train passengers will be discussed by the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council tonight....

... facilities. The New Haven branch of the Metro-North Railroad has eight stops in the Lower Hudson Valley: Port Chester, Rye, Harrison, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Pelham and Mount Vernon East. The meeting is open to the public and scheduled ...

...The meeting is open to the public and scheduled for 7 p.m. at the South Western Regional Planning Agency, 888 Washington Blvd., Stamford, Conn. Those who cannot attend can e-mail questions and comments to trains@camcomm.com for discussion by the council.

Full Story: Journal News

=======================

School Site Selected

by Todd Wiener

I am delighted to announce that a beautifully renovated, historic building in Port Chester has been selected for the new home of Westchester Family Academy. The building has a warm interior, a great layout featuring a variety of ...

Westchester Family Academy - http://familyacademy.blogspot.com/

Westchester Family Academy is now accepting applications for its inaugural semester this fall. To serve the individual needs of our students, Westchester Family Academy accepts applications year round. All information provided in the application is kept confidential and will only be used to evaluate the applicant. The application process begins by submitting a simple form (DOWNLOAD), followed by an initial telephone consultation with the head of school. We strive to keep parents and students informed and involved throughout the process.

Call (888) 326-8964 for more information.

Website: wfacademy.org,

**********************************

About Todd Wiener
Of Rye, New York

I am the son of Judith Wiener, the beloved educator, who died in January 2007 after a courageous battle with lung cancer. My brother, Marc Wiener is planning to continue his teaching at Westchester Family Academy, a new school that we are working to open in September 2007. He and I are proud to continue our mother's legacy of caring and compassionate education through this exciting new school venture.

Westchester Family Academy - http://familyacademy.blogspot.com/

=========================

Local day laborer groups to attend national convention

By The Journal News

Day laborers and advocates from the Lower Hudson Valley are expected to share their tales of struggle and celebrate local victories during the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) convention in Silver Spring, Md. this weekend.

... organizations that work with day laborers in different capacities. Member organizations from Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Mount Kisco and Brewster are expected to attend the weekend event, which will include speeches, a vigil and discussions federal ...

Full Story: Journal News

=========================

SSC, Inc. Promotes Daniel Ocasio to Assistant Vice President, Business Development

by PR Leap

SSC, Inc. (SSC), the leader in security for the tri-state region, today announced the promotion of Daniel Ocasio to the new position of Assistant Vice President, Business Development. The appointment is effective immediately. Ocasio, who previously worked as SSC’s business development manager, has over 20 years of experience in the human service and healthcare industries. In his new position, he will oversee SSC’s business development in the New York, New Jersey, and southern Connecticut markets....

... security, engineering, and building services, as project manager at New York United Hospital Medical Center, Port Chester, NY. He also worked as a Compliance & Development Manager at New York Beacon Inc. of Roslyn, NY, as well as a Residential ...

......Ocasio is a member of International Facility Management Association and the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS). He has served as chairman of the Westchester County Chapter of ASIS since 2004. He resides in Cortlandt Manor, NY.

Archive 2007 January 21 Port Chester News Wire

Rye town-United Hospital tax dispute resolved
RYE TOWN - The town will recoup more than $1 million in property taxes now that a three-year battle over the value of the shuttered New York United Hospital Medical Center has been resolved. via Journal News

Mamaroneck A&P fire update: Fire out, no injuries
No injuries were reported after firefighters from the village and Port Chester extinguished a roof blaze today at the A&P grocery store on Mamaroneck Avenue, police said. via The Journal News

Archive Port Chester News Wire 2006 August 1-15

Q & A: Liz Sadler Via The Journal News

Liz Sadler graciously agreed to be the subject of our latest Q & A. Liz has been here since 2002. As she describes it, she took a fairly uncommon route to a career in journalism:

Tell us what your responsibilities are. What do you cover?

I cover the communities of Rye, Port Chester, Rye Brook and Rye town, including politics, development, neighborhood issues and community news. I also write about life trends.

Tell us your background.

I joined The Journal News in 2002, but I didn’t take the conventional journalism career path. After graduating from college with a degree in fine arts, I worked for Sotheby’s auction house editing and managing the production of auction catalogs. Three years later, I decided to pursue a master’s in journalism, even though I had never written much more than a college paper. From there, I moved to Binghamton and covered City Hall for 14 months. I returned to New York City in September 2002 and came to work at The Journal News.

What are some of the most interesting stories you’ve covered?

I wrote last year about two U.S. Marines — one from Elmsford, one from Port Chester – who were killed in Iraq. I find those stories — the ones that allow you to go back and retrace someone’s life and tell their story — the most personally rewarding.

I also covered the demise of New York United Medical Center, a 116—year—old hospital in Port Chester that filed for bankruptcy protection and closed. Many people viewed the closing of such a beloved institution as the end of an era, so it was a privilege to cover such a pivotal event for the village and to get to know the people most impacted, including longtime employees.

Read: The Full Interview

Archive Port Chester News Wire 2006 July 16 -31

Volunteers give Port Chester EMS headquarters a makeover

By LIZ SADLERTHE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: June 16, 2006)

PORT CHESTER — Volunteers donned work shirts and surgical masks yesterday as they sanded, primed and painted the headquarters of the Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook Emergency Medical Services.

"We're not just soccer moms," said Kerry Scala of Harrison, wielding a dripping-wet paint roller.

"Who needs extreme home makeover?"Scala was one of 10 members of the volunteer Twig organization who prepared the Ellendale Avenue building for a major makeover tomorrow, involving some 30 volunteers. The Twig teamed up with Habitat for Humanity of Westchester to refurbish the squat stucco building.

Full Story: EMT Bravo Network

Archive Port Chester News Wire 2004 August

1st

Hospital closes mental health unit

New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester is seeking independent providers to take over its outpatient mental health services. Hospital officials announced last week that they would close the mental health clinic, which provides outpatient services to adults and children.

Via: The Journal News

Archive Port Chester News Wire 2004 July

July 18th

Village delays new emergency room

Construction of a state-of-the-art emergency room at New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester will not begin this summer, as officials had expected. Hospital officials said in March that they would break ground this summer, but plans to build the 16,000-square-foot facility have not yet been approved by the village, said Executive Project Manager Daniel Ocasio.

Via: The Journal News

Archive Port Chester News Wire 2003 October

October 15th

Hospital gains $2.5 million bequest

New York United Hospital Medical Center is the latest village institution to benefit from the generosity of Elise Darlington Lefferts, who left it $2.5 million. Lefferts, who died in March at age 74 and had been a patient of the hospital and its physicians, left the money to the medical center in her will.

Via: The Journal News

Archive Port Chester Business Wire 2005 February

The Following Document Is From: http://www.uky.edu/~swhank2/handouts/hospital3.doc

[DOC]
New York Times February 4, 2005

Microsoft Word - View as HTML

New York Times February 4, 2005
Hospital's Closing Not Seen as a Public Peril
By LISA W. FODERARO

PORT CHESTER, N.Y. - When New York United Hospital Medical Center announced in December that it planned to close after years of losing money, there was hand-wringing among the hundreds of staff members over their livelihoods and a deep sense of loss among residents of this Westchester County village who had grown up with the hospital.

But while residents and employees may have been surprised by the seeming suddenness of the decision, representatives of the hospital industry were not. For years, hospitals in New York State have complained that they are teetering on the edge financially because of a general decline in hospitalizations combined with sharply rising costs and stagnant reimbursement rates.

And in the last two years, the doom-and-gloom predictions have started to come true, as a dozen hospitals across the state have shut their doors for good.

What has changed, however, is the reaction to the closings. There was a time when even rumblings of a possible hospital closing set off fierce and prolonged community and political battles. But these days, with so many hospitals in financial trouble, the hospital industry, its unions and patient advocates are conceding that shrinkage is not only inevitable but in some cases healthy.

"I get paid dues for every hospital that stays open," said Daniel Sisto, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, a membership organization representing 550 hospitals, nursing homes and health care agencies. "But the reality is that these closings by and large have not created major havoc in the community."

"What I see happening in many parts of the state is that where we have excess capacity, the boards of trustees have such a vested interest in maintaining their own hospital that there might be two hospitals in a town that only needs one. Both hospitals continue to erode, and they each hang on well past the point that closure by either one would benefit the community."

That is the argument that officials in New York State have long been making. Looking to save money on health care, they have portrayed the network of hospitals stretching from Brooklyn to Buffalo as costly and bloated, with too many beds over all. That assessment was reiterated last fall in a report commissioned by Gov. George E. Pataki urging the state to stop pumping money into failing hospitals. Mr. Pataki plans to name a commission to identify hospitals to close.

But even as hospitals throughout New York State have reported various degrees of distress - a survey in 2003 by a national health industry group and a financial services company found that hospitals in New York State were by far the nation's weakest financially - closings were few through most of the 1980's and 1990's.

So far, United Hospital's demise does not seem likely to plunge Port Chester and the surrounding community into turmoil. Patients have already been making their way to Greenwich Hospital, only three miles northeast, in Connecticut, or to White Plains Hospital Center, just six miles northwest. Many low-income immigrants from Port Chester have for years used a community health center in Rye Brook operated by the Open Door Family Medical Centers. The center plans to move to Port Chester this year.

Many nurses and other professional employees have already been hired by nearby hospitals.

Though the board of United is talking about replacing the hospital with a scaled-down outpatient center with a free-standing emergency room, as well as support services like radiology, respiratory therapy and laboratory testing, its president and chief executive, Philip G. Dionne, acknowledged that it was not at all clear whether such a center would thrive financially or break even.

Hospital employees, people with ties to the hospital and Port Chester officials are still trying to stop the closing - the date is not yet set - arguing that it is vital to the economic and health care interests of the community. But other local officials say that, whatever happens, residents of Port Chester - a gritty village known for its dozens of ethnic restaurants - and those in the more affluent communities of Rye, Rye Brook and Harrison will still have access to hospital care.

"While you hate to see an institution such as this close, from a health care delivery point of view, you may not be losing anything," said Lawrence A. Rand, mayor of the village of Rye Brook, which has a population of 9,600. "You're talking about a community that is blessed with health care services." Nonetheless, he said, he would welcome United's plan to convert to an outpatient center.

What does concern health and hospital officials is the haphazard way these closings are occurring. For one, most hospitals that have closed were in struggling communities with many immigrants. The number of Hispanic residents in Port Chester, which has a population of 28,000, has ballooned in recent years, to 46 percent of the overall population in 2000, from 16 percent in 1980. United Hospital officials say that 49 percent of its patients are on Medicare and 23 percent on Medicaid.

"There are ways of reducing duplication in hospitals and pursuing consolidation, but random failure is not the answer," said Kenneth E. Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group that lobbies on behalf of the state's major hospitals.

Even officials at 1199/S.E.I.U., the powerful hospital and health care workers' union, with 250,000 members across New York, are sounding resigned to the idea that some hospitals must close, though concerned about which ones.

"We may need to look at downsizing, but it's not being done in any planned way," said the union's political director, Jennifer Cunningham.

At the same time, however, 1199/S.E.I.U., industry lobbyists and other health care lobbyists are gearing up to vigorously battle Governor Pataki's proposal to rein in the rising cost of Medicaid, the $44.5 billion-a-year health insurance program for the state's low-income residents. Mr. Pataki announced $1 billion in spending cuts for health care and Medicaid, as part of his proposed budget. Union leaders and hospital officials forecast a devastating impact on patient care if the cuts go through.
"We don't have Medicaid nurses, we have nurses, and they take care of everybody," Mr. Raske said.

Jim Tallon, president of the United Hospital Fund of New York, a nonprofit policy group, said those hospitals that served large numbers of uninsured and low-income patients were most vulnerable.

"If you have a concentration of nonpaying patients and you are not simultaneously making it up with paying patients," he said, "there's not the opportunity to make up for your losses."

But with the costs of labor, malpractice insurance and drugs rising, and insurance reimbursement rates lagging, even hospitals in well-off communities are having a hard time, industry representatives said.

"I have 209 members, and two-thirds of them are hanging on the side of the cliff, holding on with their hands," said Mr. Sisto, president of the Healthcare Association. "When one of them falls, we shouldn't ask, why them? We should ask, how many more?"

According to the Healthcare Association, the 209 nonprofit hospitals in New York lost $2 billion collectively in the last six years. The last time the hospitals as a group made money was in 1997, the association said. The hospitals that have closed in recent years include St. Agnes in White Plains, Caledonian campus of Brooklyn Hospital Center, Our Lady of Mercy's Florence D'Urso Pavilion in the Bronx, Bayley Seton on Staten Island, St. Joseph's in Queens, Beth Israel's Singer Division (the former Doctors Hospital) on the Upper East Side and a few upstate.

"An aging hospital that has been drained of financial resources for decades and that isn't in a community with a capacity for philanthrophic giving is more likely to die than one which may have just recently endured losses," Mr. Sisto said.

United has had financial troubles for years. It opened in 1889 in two rented rooms on the second floor of Scott's Dry Goods Store here. Its 14-acre campus, nestled close to both Interstate 287 and Interstate 95, grew to 255 beds and 633 staff members. It posted operating losses every year since 1990, with deficits recently in the $10 million range.

The hospital's creditors, from Con Edison to its food-service provider, were angry with the late payments - some $13.5 million was more than 200 days past due - and demanded cash up front.

The hospital, unable to invest in the latest technology or renovate its aging center, had trouble recruiting new doctors. It managed to raise $4 million for a new emergency room, but the board canceled the plan because the rest of the hospital was so antiquated that it could not support an updated emergency room.

"There's a decline in reimbursements, an increased need for equipment, aging buildings," said Mr. Dionne, United's president, who is also a principal of Kurron Shares of America, a hospital management company on Long Island hired by United's board in September. "And the most telling decline was that patients were simply choosing other places to go for their emergency care. In urban high-growth areas, that's a red flag for other problems."

In December, the administration sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the hospital stopped admitting patients for elective treatment on Christmas Eve. By Thursday, only two inpatients remained. The emergency room will stay open until the end, but no one knows exactly when that will be. The hospital submitted a "plan of closure" to the State Health Department, and a specific date will be set once the state signs off, Mr. Dionne said.

Officials from both United and local towns and villages are working with hospital administrators in the area to ensure a smooth transition for emergency care. "United has in the past done 16,000 E.R. visits a year, which is significant," Mr. Dionne said. "That need will continue."

Greenwich Hospital, for one, says it is ready to pick up the slack, even if it means treating more patients without insurance. "We want to do whatever we can to help that community," said George G. Pawlush, a hospital spokesman. "We're here to serve the patients regardless of their ability to pay."

In the newly competitive health care environment, United's loss was Greenwich's gain. In 1998, 15.7 percent of Greenwich Hospital's patients came from Westchester. Last year, 28.7 percent of patients were from Westchester, specifically the communities served by United.

And Greenwich has not been shy about advertising its services in Westchester County newspapers and stepping up mailings to Westchester residents.

"One of the reasons United got caught was competition," Mayor Rand of Rye Brook said. "When you look at it from an intellectual plane, you ask: 'How can it survive?' The answer is: 'It can't, because of the numbers.' And it doesn't need to."

But that assessment does not make the imminent closing any less agonizing for many of the hospital's employees. Clarence Medley, 58, worked at United for 28 years, most recently in the mailroom. He is one of 133 employees who live in subsidized housing on the hospital's campus. Though he has already been laid off, United is letting him and other tenants remain in their homes until the property is sold.

"Now I have to find a job and find a place to live," he said. "We heard rumors, but we didn't believe them. Finally it hit home."

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