More than 200 NYSNA Nurses Rally at City Hall
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Contact: Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
Eliza Bates | press@nysna.org |646-285-8491
MORE THAN 200 NYSNA NURSES RALLY AT CITY HALL
Nurses testify at Council hearing to sound the alarm on safe patient care at NYC private hospitals
New York, N.Y. - On Tuesday, Nov. 18, more than 200 New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses held a rally on the steps of city hall before testifying at a city council oversight hearing on the state of nursing. Nurses spoke out about current conditions at New York City’s private hospitals and demanded hospitals do more to protect healthcare for all New Yorkers.
Nurses were joined at the city hall rally by allies including City Council Members Mercedes Narcisse, Carmen De La Rosa, and Lynn Schulman, NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento, and NYC Central Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Janella Hinds.
Photos and videos of the city hall rally are available at facebook.com/nynurses. Members of the media have permission to use all photos and videos with credit to NYSNA.
NYSNA nurses are mobilizing to protect healthcare for vulnerable New York patients who are at risk from the Trump administration’s impending healthcare cuts. Experts estimate these cuts would raise the number of uninsured New Yorkers by over a million and cut billions from New York’s healthcare funding. Hospitals have the opportunity to protect care for New Yorkers who need it most and prioritize the safety of their frontline staff.
Just last week there was an active shooter incident at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Nurses have repeatedly called for hospitals to do more to protect both nurses and patients.
Nurses, whose contract expires at the end of this year, have been demanding that hospitals invest in safe staffing and commit to keeping New York City nurses and patients safe. Nurses say that they now have patients who are too afraid to come to the hospital because of the looming threat of ICE raids.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, at Maimonides Medical Center said, “As nurses, our number one priority is patient safety. That’s why NYSNA nurses are on the frontlines fighting to protect New York City patients as the Trump administration sends ICE into our communities and threatens devastating healthcare cuts. We shouldn’t have to also fight the bosses at our own hospitals for safe staffing and workplace protections. We’re calling on our city’s private hospitals to work with us and to do their part to keep nurses, our patients, and our communities safe.”
Nurses’ campaign “Nurses Care for New York” defends New York’s healthcare system and ensures that all New Yorkers have access to safe patient care. Approximately 20,000 NYSNA nurses at 12 private sector hospitals whose contracts expire Dec. 31, 2025 are united around a five-point platform:
- Quality patient care through enforceable safe staffing.
- Defend access to care when our patients’ healthcare services and staff are under attack.
- Protect nurses, so we can continue to care for you.
- Every patient deserves a real nurse.
- Fair wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses.
Mount Sinai emergency department nurse and NYSNA member Gueldye Beaubrun, RN, said, “Last week’s active shooter incident at Mount Sinai should be a wake-up call. We need workplace protections for frontline nurses who, far too often, face violence on the job. We have told Mount Sinai administrators for years that we feel unsafe, but they don’t seem to care. Mount Sinai still has not responded to our union contract proposals on workplace safety—or any other proposal for that matter. It’s time for management to listen to nurses and focus on prevention instead of waiting for tragedy to strike.”
Nearly two dozen New York City nurses testified before the City Council, describing how hospitals are attempting to roll back safe staffing and failing to protect nurses and patients. Hearing details and livestream are available on the New York City Council’s website.
Denash Forbes, RN, NYSNA Director at Large and intensive care unit nurse at Mount Sinai West, said, "Instead of prioritizing safe patient care, our hospitals are investing in untested AI technologies. Mount Sinai invested over $100 million in one AI facility alone and boasts about Sofiya, the latest AI assistant in our hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab. Now, nurses have to check Sofiya’s work to make sure the AI hasn’t made mistakes. Every patient deserves a real nurse at their bedside.”
Med-Surg Oncology nurse at BronxCare and NYSNA Director at Large, Flandersia Jones, RN, said, “BronxCare is a safety-net hospital. We care for every patient regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. Most of our patients are immigrants, and many are undocumented with no health insurance. Now, our undocumented immigrant patients only come to the hospital when they are in the direst situations, sicker than ever before, because they are so afraid of ICE. Every New Yorker deserves safe patient care without the fear of deportation.”
As New Yorkers face an affordability crisis, hospital prices in New York have increased at a rate significantly faster than the national average. Between 2017 and 2021, healthcare costs nationwide rose by 14%; in New York, they rose by over 18%. These increases have not coincided with investments in patient care and hospital revenue per patient at the largest NYC hospitals is rising. For example, between 2011 and 2022, at NewYork-Presbyterian, the operating profit per adjusted discharge nearly doubled, rising from $3,780 to $6,854.
NYC’s private hospitals have increased executive compensation by millions over the last several years. According to 990 tax filings, the CEOs of New York City’s three major academic medical centers, Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian increased their total compensation, including salaries, benefits, and perks, by over 54% from 2020 to 2023. CEOs at Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian now make, on average, nearly 12,000 percent more than the registered nurses on the frontlines caring for patients.
In 2023, NewYork-Presbyterian CEO Steve Corwin raked in $14.6 million in total compensation — that’s over $1.2 million per month, and $40,000 per day.
While nurses have demanded that hospitals work to protect care for all, instead, hospitals have ignored staffing issues, fighting nurses through meritless lawsuits. Nurses launched a new website, nychospitalgreed.com, to expose how NYC’s private hospitals put profits before patients.
City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse said, "As a proud nurse and as Chair of the Hospitals Committee of the New York City Council, I know the difference that safe staffing and real investment in patient care make. New York’s nurses have been on the frontlines pushing back against cuts, staffing shortages, and decisions that prioritize technology and executive pay over people. They are right to demand better. They deserve and have earned better. Hospitals must do their part, invest in their workforce, protect services, and ensure that every patient receives the care they deserve. I will always stand with our nurses in that fight."
"I'm proud to stand in solidarity with NYSNA nurses as they continue fighting for safer workplaces, fair protections, and staffing levels that allow them to do their jobs without risking burnout,” said Council Member Lynn Schulman. “The progress we’ve made is now in jeopardy because of Trump’s so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ We must stay united and vigilant to ensure that the rights and safety of our healthcare workers are protected. As chair of the Council Committee on Health, I look forward to continuing our work to ensure New Yorkers have access to quality and affordable healthcare, regardless of zip code."
City Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez said, “New York City’s nurses have been clear that patients deserve safe, dignified care, and that starts with fully staffed hospitals that invest in people—not executives and not unproven tech. As federal healthcare cuts loom, hospitals that have the means must step up, protect services, and keep real nurses at the bedside. I stand firmly with the 20,000 nurses heading into contract negotiations who are fighting for safe staffing, fair wages, and the health and wellbeing of every New Yorker.”
“New York’s nurses care for New Yorkers, said City Council Member Justin Brannan. “We can’t allow a Medicaid funding crisis, created by a federal government that does not care for New Yorkers, to impact our nurses’ ability to do their work effectively, safely, and with the dignity and compensation they deserve. This unnecessary disaster of Washington’s making necessitates that our hospitals invest in, above all else, their patients and the frontline staff who care for them.”
City Council Member Dr. Nantasha Williams said, “Nurses carry our families through some of our hardest moments, with a level of care you can’t automate or replace. As federal cuts threaten patient care, our hospitals have a responsibility to stand with them and invest in the staffing and support that keep patients safe. Technology can be a tool, but it can’t come at the expense of the people at the bedside. I stand with the nurses fighting to protect quality care across this city, because when we support them, we safeguard the health and dignity of every New Yorker.”
“Nurses are the first ones to comfort a frightened patient, the first ones families turn to with questions, and the ones who hold our system together day after day, shift after shift,” said City Council Member Sandra Ung. “Ensuring that nurses receive fair wages and strong job protections isn’t just what’s best for them, it’s what’s best for our communities and the future health of our city. A healthcare system that shortchanges nurses is a system that shortchanges every single New Yorker.”
"As the son of a nurse, I know first-hand the lifesaving work nurses do each and every day," said City Council Member Keith Powers. "I proudly stand with the 20,000 nurses across 12 New York City hospitals who are simply asking for safe staffing levels and a fair contract. New Yorkers are lucky to have some of the best hospitals in the country. But without the nurses who serve as the backbone of the system, it falls apart. It's time we stand up for our nurses and give them the fair wages, benefits and workplace protections they deserve."
“Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system, and their message is clear: New Yorkers deserve safe staffing, quality care, and hospitals that prioritize their employees,” said City Council Member Julie Menin. “Today’s City Council hearing underscores serious concerns that must be addressed as federal Medicaid cuts loom, and hospitals continue to reduce frontline staff. I want to thank Council Member Mercedes Narcisse for her leadership on this issue and NYSNA for their powerful testimony as they fight for real investments in patient care.”
City Council Member Chris Banks said, “Lately, everything feels like a fight for things that we should not have to fight for. Providing safe care to patients across New York is something we should not have to fight hard to achieve. The foundation of the safe delivery of nursing care is rooted in the delivery of a fair contract that supports appropriate wages, benefits, and safe staffing levels. I stand alongside those members of the New York State Nurses Association who demand nothing more than what they have earned and what they deserve, a fair and just contract which must be delivered now.”
“Our nurses work tirelessly on the front lines, yet they are forced to care for more patients with fewer resources, leading to overcrowding in emergency rooms and long wait times for beds,” said City Council Member Eric Dinowitz. “This is not sustainable - for our workforce or for our communities. I’m proud to stand with NYSNA nurses as they demand the systemic reforms and staffing protections necessary to safeguard patient care and support the professionals who keep our hospitals running.”
“Nurses have fought for safe staffing, patient safety, and now they are back on the frontlines pushing back against cuts to healthcare," said City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa. "We must listen to and support our nurses as they sound the alarm at our hospitals where they are charged with caring for the most vulnerable during some of their most difficult moments. We need our safety-net hospitals to prioritize safe staffing and health equity so that all patients receive the quality care they deserve, regardless of their ability to pay.”
"Thousands of nurses represented by NYSNA are working day and night to provide the highest quality of care possible, often under demanding schedules and during a time when our healthcare system is under extraordinary threat,” said Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO. “We need hospitals in New York City to invest in the people who do the work. That is why the entire Union Movement in New York State proudly stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the dedicated NYSNA nurses who are demanding enforceable safe staff levels, fair wages, and benefits. They have the full resources of the New York State AFL-CIO at their disposal, empowering them in this contract fight."
“Nurses care for New York with skill and dedication every day,” said New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Janella T. Hinds. “As federal cuts threaten our healthcare system, NYSNA nurses are demanding that hospitals protect safe staffing and invest in real patient care. Working people need a healthcare system that works for them, and the New York City Labor Movement stands with these nurses as they fight for a system that puts communities first and values the professionals who keep our city healthy.
Three years ago, NYSNA New York City nurses were prepared to strike for safe staffing and better patient care, and two hospitals went on strike in January 2023. Nurses now are just as committed to defending the gains we have made, protecting the staff and services our patients need, and ensuring that hospitals put patients over profits.
NYSNA launched a new advertising campaign and website in August to support New York City nurses. Visit https://www.nursescareforny.org/ to learn more.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.