Coler Specialty Hospital

Bird S. Coler Hospital, referred to more recently as Coler Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility, opened in 1952 and occupies most of the north tip of the island.^[4] The number of beds increased from 500 to 815, then to 1,025 as of 2012.^[5] In 2020, it was described as "one of the largest public nursing facilities in the world."^[6]

In 2014, the hospital received part of the Federal government's post Hurricane Sandy funding for storm improvements.^[7]

Goldwater Memorial Hospital opened in 1939 as the Welfare Hospital for Chronic Disease^[2] on a 9.9 acre (4.0 hectare) tract just south of the Queensboro Bridge.^[8] The hospital, which included a medical library, was named for Dr. S.S. Goldwater, the New York City Hospitals Commissioner responsible for the hospital complex master plan in 1942.^[2] It operated as a center providing long-term care for polio survivors. One of its patients, Harriet Bell, lived there from 1954 to 1979. Bell served on the hospital board as president for four terms, assisting in the drafting of the Patient's Bill of Rights.^[9]

In August 1972, the movie The Exorcist began principal photography at Goldwater, filming a scene where Jason Miller (as Father Karras) and Titos Vandis (as his uncle) argue about the care Karras's aging mother is receiving.^[10]

Goldwater, built on city-owned land, shut its doors on December 31, 2013,^[11][12] to provide for the new Cornell Tech campus.^[13] The hospital's closure and patient relocation was first announced in 2010, and demolition began in January 2014 with the removal of asbestos.^[14][15][16]