Law to limit Montefiore is repealed

The state legislature has repealed the law that would have required Montefiore Medical Center to go through a lengthy review process to get approval for its controversial plans on Riverdale Avenue.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and state Sen. Jeff Klein said they moved to include a repeal of the legislation in the budget passed at the start of the month because Montefiore’s recent cancellation of its project made the law unnecessary.

“I felt there was no longer any need to have the law in place. We accomplished our goal,” Mr. Klein said, adding that the law was intended as a pilot program in the first place.

Mr. Dinowitz said if Montefiore in the future revives its plans — which called for a six-story facility near the intersection of Riverdale Avenue and West 238th Street — he and Mr. Klein could bring back the law, which empowered the state Department of Health to approve, reject or suggest modifications to ambulatory centers over three stories tall or greater than 30,000 square feet proposed in Bronx County.

“We showed that given the circumstances, we were able to find a legitimate way to help block it and if there were ever a similar circumstance, we would try to be just as creative,” Mr. Dinowitz said. “But I’m taking Montefiore at their word that they’re finished as far as a project like this in Riverdale. I believe them.”

Last month, Montefiore and the Simone Development Companies announced they would no longer seek to build a multi-use facility on the lots at 3733, 3735 and 3741 Riverdale Ave. along with 3644 Oxford Ave. The change came after months of backlash from residents and elected officials, who said the facility would warp the character of the community and exacerbate traffic problems in the area, among other concerns. Following the creation of the state review process last March, Montefiore had shrunk the size of its proposed project from 11 to six stories. The legislation was widely viewed as the main reason Montefiore ultimately abandoned its plans.