NYC Council Announces $2 Million Investment to Renovate Wyckoff Heights Medical Center’s Neonatal Care Suite

Council has delivered $5.8 million to Wyckoff's project to renovate its facilities supporting mothers and babies

Brooklyn, NY - Today, New York City Council Members Sandy Nurse and Jennifer Gutiérrez joined Wyckoff Heights Medical Center's President & CEO Vali Gache and leadership team to announce the Council's $2 million investment towards the hospital's expansion and upgrade of their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The capital funding secured by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Member Nurse in the City's Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget, will help ensure high-quality care for mothers and babies receiving services in the NICU. This investment advances the third phase of a multi-phase transformation project to renovate the medical center's 11th floor (Maternity/Postpartum) and 12th floor (Labor & Delivery).

"Our historically diverse, women-majority City Council has consistently championed efforts to improve maternal health and confront the longstanding inequities facing our mothers and families," said Speaker Adrienne Adams. "We're proud to have secured $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget to modernize the NICU at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and $5.8 million overall to transform a vital part of this community institution. These are the needed investments to sustain and bolster safety net hospitals that care for underserved communities, while advancing progress to end maternal mortality. I thank Council Member Nurse, Council Gutierrez, and the entire team at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for their hard work to deliver for our communities."

The 5,000-square-foot NICU suite will fit 15 incubators, three nursery rooms, including one isolation room, a breastfeeding room, family waiting areas, hallways, storage and utility rooms, nurses' station, and clinical staff offices and lounge. Between FY24 and FY25, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center received a total of $3.8 million in capital funding from Speaker Adams and Council Member Nurse to support the first and second phases of the transformation project. With the funding received this year, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center will be able to continue its renovations on the 11th floor and modernize the newborn care facilities.

"From the moment I learned about the need to revamp the maternity and neonatal suites at Wyckoff Hospital, I fought to secure the funding required to make it a reality," said Council Member Sandy Nurse. "Today, I'm proud to announce that $5.8 million has been secured for these projects over the past two fiscal years, $800,000 from my district's allocations and $5 million through Speaker Adams' citywide commitment to improving maternal health. Wyckoff Hospital is a pillar of health access in Bushwick, and when it thrives, our communities thrive. With maternal health outcomes for Black and Brown women still lagging far behind those of white women, this investment couldn't have come at a more critical time. Every mother who walks through Wyckoff's doors deserves and receives safe, dignified maternal care."

"North Brooklyn hospitals like Wyckoff are crucial community institutions," said Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez. "When we invest in their infrastructure, we're not just upgrading buildings, we're strengthening the entire community. Modern maternity and neonatal units mean safer births, faster emergency response, and real peace of mind for families across Bushwick and beyond. Council Member Nurse and Speaker Adams' $5.8 million investment ensures that parents, babies, and frontline healthcare workers all have the safe, dignified, state-of-the-art spaces they deserve. When our safety-net hospitals are strong, North Brooklyn is stronger."

"Today marks a vital opportunity to improve the environment of care for some of the most celebrated and vulnerable members of our communities - newborns and their mothers, the children and families of Brooklyn and Queens and the incredibly hard-working teams of Wyckoff staff who accompany and care for them in this important chapter of their lives," said Vali Gache, President & CEO of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. "The new Neonatal Suites, as well as the Maternity and Labor and Delivery Suites, will provide a brighter, more efficient and more patient-centered environment where our teams can continue to deliver excellent care. As an immigrant mother of two, I delivered my babies in a safety net community hospital, and 24 years later I still remember how important the hospital and the community support was for my family."

Gache continued, "We extend our deepest gratitude to the NYC Council, particularly Council Members Sandy Nurse and Jennifer Gutierrez, Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who for the last three years have supported our safety net hospital and the communities of Brooklyn and Queens with leadership and critical funding. We are equally grateful to our partners in the New York State Legislature and at the Department of Health for investing in the health and futures of our community's children and families."

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