A rendering for an upcoming story on the expansion of...

A rendering for an upcoming story on the expansion of Huntington Hospital.

Huntington Hospital is preparing to undergo a $50 million expansion as it moves to create a 23,997-square-foot addition to its emergency room.

The hospital, located at 270 Park Ave., is proposing to expand the existing emergency room by constructing a new, two-story addition, to be connected to the existing five-story, 405,517-square-foot hospital.

The first-floor addition will be 16,860 square feet and the ground floor 7,137 square feet. The existing two-story 8,400-square-foot portion that is in the area of the ER expansion may be demolished and rebuilt or renovated.

"This expansion will more than double the size of Huntington's present Emergency Department, and will enable the hospital to improve its level of service and operating efficiency to better accommodate the more than 50,000 visitors it receives each year," Julie Robinson-Tingue, hospital spokeswoman, said in an email.

The hospital will require variances from the town zoning board of appeals because the building will cover a greater percentage of the lot than allowed by code; the expansion will be closer to the property line than allowed by code and because the hospital plans to build a retaining wall closer to the property line than allowed by code.

"The larger it is, the more accommodating it will be for the patient," town Supervisor Frank Petrone said. "This is a big plus for Huntington because it's a very good community hospital that is very community minded and stays very involved with the community, and yet it is part of the North Shore network, which has an excellent standing."

Funding for the approximately $50 million cost will come from multiple sources, including philanthropy, Robinson-Tingue said. The hospital expects to begin construction early next year, with completion scheduled for late 2016. The hospital is a member of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

"The hospital really does need an expansion," Andrea Golinsky, spokeswoman for the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, said.

"When it's overcrowded it delays us in getting our crews and ambulances back in service, so anything they can do to alleviate that problem and get us in and out faster is only beneficial to us and the people that we serve," she said.

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