BELLEVUE HOSPITAL REOPENS E.R.

Bellevue Hospital reopened its emergency department for limited services on Monday, Dec. 24, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. The department is now staffed and receiving ambulances for the treatment of non-traumatic and non-critical injuries.

“Bellevue plays a vital role in the community, and we’re very pleased to be able to offer limited emergency department services there again,” said Alan D. Aviles, president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC). “Tremendous credit is owed to the dedicated staff and physicians who have worked around the clock since Sandy to bring the facility back into service.”

Flooding during the storm disabled the hospital’s equipment and forced staff to evacuate its patients. The hospital has since gradually restored its services, including reopening outpatient clinics in November. According to the announcement of the emergency department’s opening, the department still will not operate as a Level 1 Trauma Center, and the hospital is working to ensure that only non-critical patients are brought in. Those who do arrive needing surgery will be stabilized and transferred to another facility.

The hospital hopes to return to providing its normal full range of services by February.

NY MUSEUM CELEBRATES  THE HOLIDAYS

On Monday, Dec. 10, the Museum of the City of New York was abuzz with its annual Children’s Holiday Party to benefit the Museum’s Frederick A.O. Schwarz Children’s Center, which funds social studies programs for local students and teachers. A tradition for more than 40 years, the afternoon was full of merrymaking with nonstop entertainment, kids’ activities and festive food.

The holiday celebration was sponsored by Milly Minis and came together thanks to the hard work of Co-Chairs Paige Hardy, Jill Ross, Michelle Smith and Yliana Yepez.

If you missed the party this year, you can still take part in a Charity Buzz Auction that is currently running through Jan. 16.

CHRISTMAS TREE CLEAN-UP

The Department of Sanitation (DOS) is currently running a Christmas tree collection for mulching and recycling. Through Saturday, Jan. 19, the department is encouraging residents to leave their trees by the curb in front of their homes for pick-up. Tree stands, tinsel, lights and ornaments should be removed, and the trees should not be placed in plastic bags. According to DOS, the trees will be chipped into mulch that will be distributed to parks, playing fields and community gardens throughout the city.

The Department of Parks and Recreation is also holding a “Mulchfest” next weekend, Jan. 12 and 13, at designated sites around the city. Residents can bring their trees to be chipped into mulch that will be used as ground cover for the city’s plants, and free mulch will be given to anyone who brings a bag to transport it.

According to a release distributed by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Oscar Fuller, 35, was found guilty of punching a woman in the face while arguing over a parking spot on E. 14th Street in Feb. 2011. He faces charges of assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor.

“This was a brutal and unjustified act of rage,” said District Attorney Vance. “That a petty argument over a parking space could escalate into physical violence is shameful. I would like to thank our prosecutors for their persistence in trying this case, and the jury for its service.”

According to the DA, the victim Lana Rosas was 25 at the time of the incident. Rosas was reportedly standing on the side of the street at the intersection of 14th Street and Avenue B, holding a parking space for a friend. Fuller, wanting the parking spot, eventually got out of his car, punched Rosas in the face. She was knocked unconscious, says the DA, and fell to the ground, hitting her head on the cement pavement. Rosas was then taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she stayed in a coma for a week, supposedly suffering a serious brain injury and the DA says she continues rehabilitation.

Fuller fled the scene of the incident, but witnesses captured his license plate number and he was late.