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Bellevue, Coney Island Hospitals Won't Fully Reopen Until Next Year

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It will be 2013 before Bellevue and Coney Island hospitals fully recover from the storm.

Coney Island Hospital already had started running outpatient services as of Monday, and Bellevue was expected to begin doing so next week.

But Bellevue Hospital Center will not reopen its emergency room or its inpatient units until the first week in February, New York Health and Hospital Corporation President Alan Aviles told DNAInfo.

Coney Island Hospital was expected to be back in full operation by the first week in January.

Bellevue was evacuated on Wednesday night, two days after Superstorm Sandy struck.

The problem was 17 million gallons of floodwater that accumulated in the hospital basement, and took out all but one of the backup generators. That was not enough to power the entire facility.

Coney Island Hospital was also evacuated not long after the storm landed on the area.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has requested $300 million for emergency repairs to hospitals damaged by Sandy, as well as $200 million for schools. On Tuesday, the City Council will vote on the emergency plan.

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