Mount Sinai Beth Israel began closing its doors Tuesday after a New York appeals court rejected a community group’s bid to keep it open. 

The ruling, handed down by the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court, comes more than two years after Mount Sinai first announced its plans to shutter the Gramercy Park hospital.

In a statement, Mount Sinai said it was “pleased” with the decision, adding that it would move forward with its closure plan “immediately.” 

The hospital has slowly been cutting services since September 2023, when it said financial losses and dwindling inpatient volumes had left it no choice but to close. 

The state Department of Health last July granted the hospital approval to close on the condition that it meet certain commitments to ensure the patients would still have access to care. 

In its statement Tuesday, Mount Sinai said it was opening an urgent care center two blocks away from Beth Israel on the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai campus. 

“This urgent care center has already been constructed and will be ready to take patients prior to the hospital’s closing,” Mount Sinai said. 

While Beth Israel is no longer providing inpatient services, its emergency department will continue to accept walk-ins until the hospital closes for good, Mount Sinai added. 

“We are working closely with the New York State Department of Health (DOH), state regulators, and other area hospitals to ensure a seamless and safe transition of care,” the hospital network said.

Arthur Schwartz, an attorney for the group suing to keep Beth Israel open, told NY1 the coalition plans to file an emergency motion with New York state’s Court of Appeals. 

The closure comes after years of protests and lawsuits attempting to keep the doors open for the some 400,000 people the hospital serves.

“I place the major blame on, besides the CEO of Mount Sinai, is Governor Hochul. She could have put money into this. She could have expanded their Medicaid reimbursement," Schwartz said.

NY1 reached out to the governor's office for a comment. The state Department of Health, meanwhile, released its own statement on the closure. 

"Over the past three budgets, New York State has made significant investments in hospitals, including the largest Medicaid rate increases in 20 years. Mount Sinai Beth Israel agreed to several conditions on their closure plan approval to help ensure that patients receive quality care at nearby hospitals and other primary care providers," the department said. "This included establishing a new 24/7 Urgent Care Center that will begin to operate before the hospital closes."

As for the future of the plot of land at First Avenue and East 16th Street, state Assemblymember Harvey Epstein says there needs to be city oversight so whatever replaces the hospital will benefit the neighborhood.

“We have a lack of beds in Lower Manhattan. We do know that we need substantial amounts of affordable housing throughout our community, and we have a housing crisis in our city. Those are really important things that we need to talk about," he said.