AG seeks to stop 'illegal' evacuation of Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation, court papers show

The New York State Attorney General’s Office filed papers late Wednesday asking a Nassau County judge to prevent Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation from beginning an "emergency evacuation" Thursday of its more than 300 elderly and disabled residents and to force the facility to meet payroll obligations.

The request for a temporary restraining order came one day after Newsday reported the Woodbury facility, Long Island's second largest nursing home, was planning such an evacuation because it no longer could afford to pay staff.

The facility's administrator, Edline Joseph, said in a letter to staff Tuesday that all personnel would be laid off. Citing the company's "dire financial circumstances, and the freezing of bank accounts and government funds," she said the facility would close Dec. 31, although "we are diligently attempting to reopen the facility under new ownership or postpone the closure."

Paul Kremer, an attorney for Cold Spring Hills, declined to comment Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear when the parties would appear in court.

The financially troubled nursing home has been struggling for months to pay its staff, owes more than $50 million to creditors and has been desperately seeking a buyer.

The New York State Department of Health is considering an application for Eliezer Jay Zelman, who owns several nursing homes elsewhere in New York, to become the facility's temporary receiver, taking over all operations, including paying staff, court records show.

On Wednesday, Special Assistant Attorney General Christina Pinnola told state Supreme Court Justice Lisa Cairo in the application for a temporary restraining order that an "emergency evacuation," which the facility plans to start Thursday, is "illegal" and jeopardizes the welfare of the facility's vulnerable residents.

"The relief sought is necessary to prevent the immediate and irreparable injury and harm that would result from uprooting frail and elderly residents under the guise of a purported 'emergency' evacuation, when, in fact, no such emergency exists," said Pinnola.

She referenced a "notice" of the planned action she said the facility provided to state health officials Monday evening.

Many Cold Spring Hills residents suffer from dementia or are on ventilators, and the plan puts their health "at unnecessary and imminent risk," including 70 nursing home residents who are considered "hard to place," the court filing said.

Pinnola also said nursing home magnate Bent Philipson, Cold Spring Hills' primary owner, should be ordered to continue paying his staff until state health officials approve a transfer of ownership or closure plan. 

Pinnola alleged Philipson and his son Avi Philipson, the nursing home's managing member, have sufficient resources to meet the business' $1.14 million weekly payroll and laying off staff "is a calculated choice, based on prioritizing their financial interests."

Since the AG's office filed a now-settled lawsuit against the nursing home in December 2022 — charging the facility neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich its owners — Cold Spring Hills has transferred $4.8 million to accounts operated by the Philipsons, Pinnola wrote.

"Cold Spring Hills' poor financial condition is self-inflicted and consistent with a plan to pressure DOH to rush to approve a receivership application," she wrote.

The court filing also says Cold Spring Hills failed to file a notice that provides employees at least 60 days notice before ending their employment and has yet to submit a proper closure plan with state health officials, as required by law. The majority of Cold Spring Hills employees are members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

State health department spokeswoman Monica Pomeroy declined to comment on Wednesday's court filing, citing the pending litigation. She said Tuesday that the nursing home has failed to provide all of the documents needed to consider the receivership application or a potential change of ownership.

Zelman, Joseph and Linda Wickens-Alteri, the nursing home's court-appointed independent health monitor, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

In April, Cairo appointed Wickens-Alteri and imposed a $2 million penalty to Cold Spring Hills as part of the resolution of the lawsuit.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.