Brooklyn lawmakers are making a last-ditch attempt to save Victory Memorial Hospital by suing the New York State Department of Health.

Victory Memorial is set to close on January 16 after a proposal to merge the hospital's emergency room with SUNY Downstate Medical Center was shot down by the Department of Health. Congressman Vito Fossella (R), state Senator Marty Goldman (R-Bay Ridge) and city Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn) are filing a lawsuit to prevent the discontinuation of services at Victory's emergency room. In the lawsuit, the politicians say the state's actions are "arbitrary and capricious."

"We are trying to breathe life back into ER services at Victory," says Gentile.

The decision to shut down Victory Memorial came last year after a commission report decided the hospital had a low occupancy rate and was a financial liability. Opponents of the closure say thousands of Victory's emergency room patients cannot be absorbed by other local hospitals.

The lawsuit will be filed in New York State Supreme Court by the end of the week.

Related information: Health dept. shoots down Victory Memorial proposal