The leader of the state Senate health committee said news of the closing of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn was a surprise.

Bronx Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who is chairman of the state Senate Health Committee and co-chair of the task force on opioids, addiction and overdose prevention, said the commissioner of health wasn't aware of the closure before the news broke in the media.

"I just wanna say this, for the record, I certainly understand that we have some issues with this institution and that the transformation of it to make sure that we can serve the patients of Brooklyn is essential. But the way that we do it is important," Rivera told NY1 anchor Errol Louis on "Inside City Hall" Monday.

Rivera said there is underfunding to institutions that serve underprivileged individuals across the state.

"There's certainly some investment that needs to be done there and some rethinking that needs to be done about how these services are provided," he said. "However, again, when you have the people who are going to be impacted not being included in the conversation. And the folks that are bringing it about, acting like it's fair to complete without having a real conversation about how this transformation is going to work, it's problematic from the get-go."

SUNY officials several weeks ago notified hospital staff about the plan to shrink or shutter the only state-run hospital in the city.

According to SUNY Chancellor John King, the central Brooklyn 342-bed hospital has a $100 million deficit and operates in a deteriorating building.

King assured patients that there will not be any loss of care.

In a statement, a spokesperson for SUNY Downstate said, "We are also committed to ensuring that essential services like our kidney transplant program, the only such program in Brooklyn, continue to be available to the community during and after the transformation process."

A spokesperson also said the hospital will try to limit staffing cuts and hopes to have a more detailed plan by the end of March.