Hempstead zoning board OKs $35M Mt. Sinai South Nassau expansion 

Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital is planning to move forward on a $35-million project to convert a vacant building in Wantagh into a multispecialty medical office.

Hospital officials said it will take about 18 months of construction to transform the former Verizon office building into a 60,000 square-foot medical specialty center.

At a May 11 hearing, the Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals approved the proposal. The zoning board held a three-hour public hearing in April, where officials heard concerns about increased traffic and parking. The expansion plan calls for 248 parking spaces at the site and required traffic to only exit right onto Wantagh Avenue. 

The site will operate as appointment only, with no walk-in services or urgent care center. 

Attorneys representing homeowners could not be reached for comment Tuesday. 

South Nassau officials said during the zoning hearing in April that a traffic study found that the proposed building would not significantly increase traffic. 

Hospital officials said they have been holding community meetings with residents for more than two years.

“Mount Sinai South Nassau is pleased that the Town of Hempstead’s zoning board has approved our request to begin the renovation of the Wantagh medical office building, which will bring world class specialty care to the southeastern communities along the South Shore,” hospital officials said in a statement.

Officials said the new facility will offer one-stop services for everything from primary care and pediatrics to a women’s center, cancer treatment, diabetes care, radiology and cardiac services. The proposed facility also would offer specialists for cardiovascular care, gastrointestinal treatment, orthopedics, rheumatology, neurology and laboratory services. It would include 50 exam and consultation rooms.

Mount Sinai officials said they are hoping to mirror a similar complex that the hospital network offers in Greenlawn where patients can receive specialty services in one place. The new facility will not be open at night and will only offer services until about 7 p.m., said Antony Cancellieri, the co-chair of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s board of directors.

“The hospital industry is gravitating to these facilities in a smaller capacity rather than a hospital,” Cancellieri said. “We explained to residents in the area that there will be no ambulances going back and forth. Once they see what’s going to be produced, it’s going to become a very important health care asset.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.