The plan is somewhat controversial for not including full emergency care or inpatient services, though the judge in the case would not allow a community group backed by a mysterious hospital and developer more time to submit its own plan. According to WNYC, the group, led by former Councilman Alan Gerson, is considering filing an appeal, even as the judge backed St. Vincent's argument that the plan put forth by North-Shore LIJ and the Rudins was the most expeditious option.

What is oddest about the challenge is the one partner the group was willing to identify, which Crain's reveals would have brought the gridiron to Greenwich Village:

But the group cited only one possible collaborator: the National Football League Alumni Association, which the trio said indicated "that they may like to be involved in establishing a hospital to treat their members [as well as the general public]. They would bring the NFL logo to any such development."

There is still a touchdown to be scored by another developer, though, as The Journal reports that St. Vincent's is also selling off a prized 37-acre swath of prime Westchester real estate.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo

Voting in favor of it was Helen Foster of the Bronx , Alan Gerson of Manhattan, Letitia James of Brooklyn and Helen Sears of Queens.

Liz Crowley of Queens abstained [corrected]. The issue now goes before the full City Council where things may get interesting.

UPDATE: Vinny Ignizio, a Republican from Staten Island, said he opposes the renaming of a street in Queens after Sean Bell.

Fiterman ceremony sparks shouting match between #Charles Barron & CUNY trustee, after #Bloomberg left. Gerson helped defuse the argument.

Oliver Koppell, said, “I got 64 percent. Last time I got 76 percent. I think the difference was largely term limits. But part of it was there was a better campaign.”

James Sanders, for whom Michael Bloomberg raised money, said he’s undecided about the mayor's race. “I’m in consultation, I’m in dialogue with both.” When I asked if he’s open to endorsing Bloomberg, Sanders said, “Sure. Or Thompson.”

Alan Gerson, who lost his primary to Margaret Chin, said his vote to support the term limits extension “probably depressed our vote slightly. I don’t think it was a decisive factor." He added, “What was more significant than term limits was the unusually low voter turnout in all the areas except Margaret’s stronghold.”

Domenic Recchia, who played a leading role in getting the term limits extension passed, said, “I didn’t have an opponent. How much of a factor could it have been?”

Darlene Mealy, who voted for the extension and narrowly edged out a victory over former Council member Tracy Boyland, said, “It really wasn’t a factor out here.”

Diana Reyna, who voted for the extension and beat a challenger supported by the Brooklyn Democratic County leader, said, “It was brought up, but not as often as people would have thought.”

Inez Dickens said, about Christine Quinn refusing to commit to supporting Thompson, “I haven’t had a discussion with her about it. Yes, I have read in the paper that she has not yet. But there are others who have not yet endorsed.”

Larry Seabrook, who endorsed Bloomberg in 2005 and voted to extend term limits, said, “I'm with Thompson," and "I think all the Democrats will be endorsing the Democratic nominee.” He said, “When I endorsed the mayor the last time around, I looked at the situation and he was the best guy at the time to deal with those issues.”

Gerson, a Democratic Council incumbent facing a competitive primary, at one point was heard telling one senior, "I'll get re-elected, then I'll get married."

Gerson, who lives at home with his parents, repeated the line to me, and said, "My mother is still hoping."

Silver, the powerful Assembly speaker, who has the luxury of approaching today as a pure spectator, said turnout may be light because there's not much of a mayoral primary to speak of. (Expectations are that Bill Thompson will kill, then be killed.) When I asked if the issue of term-limits extension would drive some indignant voters to the polls to express their displeasure--as a number of Council challengers are hoping--Silver said probably not.

"I don't think it's significant,” he said. I haven't heard that on the streets. I think last April, May, June, there was more of that sentiment."

The other main factor in the elections is the Working Families Party, whose Get Out the Vote operation is being tested today (along with their ability to account accurately for it.)

Silver paid respect to the W.F.P., telling me, "I think they're good at organizing voters and constituents. There's no question they have issues. They've stood with their issues and they've done a good job."

Morgenthau, who is retiring after running the Manhattan district attorney’s office for 34 years, told me "it feels good" not being on the ballot. When I asked him about the Working Families Party, which is not supporting his hand-chosen successor for district attorney, Vance, he deadpanned, "Who are they?"

People around us starting laughing, and I felt bad, so I began explaining, when I realized that he was smiling and the laughter was directed at me.

On our way out of the senior center, all four men surrounded one woman who was walking into the building, politely reminding her to vote.

Here's a flier going around the Lower Manhattan district represented by Alan Gerson, one of the few incumbents who's having a tough primary race.

Since it's Manhattan, good-government issues actually matter, so Gerson's attendance rate and vote to extend term limits have come up frequently.

But he has a crowded field, meaning that it's unclear who, if anyone, the opposition vote will solidify around. Also, there are two credible Asian-American candidates, which could lead to a split vote in that community.

Gerson's opponents are Pete Gleason, a former firemen who got Freddy Ferrer’s endorsement but has had lackluster fund-raising; P.J. Kim, who has raised lots of money ($104,562), was endorsed over Gerson by The New York Times. and is being supported by the Working Families Party; Margaret Chin, who has raised $116,405, and has run for the office before; and Arthur Gregory, who’s barely raised any money and wants to create “virtual district offices.”

But it may not work out that way. In fact, only a handful of the more than two dozen incumbent City Council members are in anything that could be considered a serious race.

Today, The Post identifies four incumbents worth watching: Diana Reyna, Maria Baez, Helen Sears and Kendall Stewart. All voted to extend term limits. To that list, I’d add Alan Gerson and Darlene Mealy. More on those races shortly.

Citizen Union's executive director, Dick Dadey, said if every incumbent City Council member is re-elected, “I’m not sure you can take much stock in it because it’s a low turnout election. There’s not much excitement about the top of the ticket. And low turnouts always favor incumbents.”

In the comptroller race, Citizens Union is backing John Liu. Two other leading candidates, David Yassky and Melinda Katz, both voted to extend term limits, and the other candidate in the race, David Weprin, opposed the term limits extension, but is seen as having less of a chance of winning.

In the public advocate’s race, C.U. announced they’re backing Bill de Blasio, despite his close association with the Working Families Party, which is under scrutiny for the creative way it has found to coordinate expensive field operations with chosen candidates. (The WFP is also backing Liu.)

C.U. wrote that De Blasio can boost the “office’s effectiveness and visibility” and act “as an effective counter to a strong mayor and active council.”

Here's McGee:

Last night, Alan Gerson came under attack for...being cynical.

Challenger Pete Gleason challenged incumbent Alan Gerson on his vote to extend term limits legislatively after a compromise amendment failed. Gleason said the incumbent never really opposed term limits and that Gerson was on a conference call with District Leader Jean Grillo saying he knew the voter-referendum bill wouldn’t pass. According to Gleason’s account, Gerson told the district leader that once the Gleason amendment – which would have required a public referendum – failed, the councilman would then vote to extend term limits.

Jean Grillo confirmed this call, saying Gerson made it plain that he didn’t really believe in his own referendum. While Gleason spoke, Gerson was visibly upset, throwing his hands up in anger, but never responding to the accusation.

One man asked another candidate, P.J. Kim, if he was the spoiler candidate, dividing the Asian community between himself and fellow candidate Margaret Chin.

“I’d be a very interesting spoiler if I got endorsements from the New York Times and New York Press, and have collected the most signatures besides the incumbent,” Kim said.

Chin and the rest of the other candidates didn’t seem worried either. Candidate Arthur Gregory said, “I’m not worried about a division. She’s Chinese, he’s Korean. There are very few Koreans in this area.”

In an interview with City Hall News, Gerson said he was approached by someone who suggested he recruit an Asian candidate to be a spoiler, but that he “totally unequivocally rejected that.”

In an interview with The Villager, Mendez criticized Gerson for the role he played in the term-limits fight, dismissing the amendment that he and others tried advancing which would have put the issue on a ballot for voter referendum.

The amendment lost, and Gerson ended up voting to extend term limits. Gerson, and others like David Yassky, have tried to please their progressive, good-government backers by pointing to the failed referendum as proof they haven't compromised their principles.

Some aren’t buying it.

“Alan...all I can say about that amendment is it was lame — and everyone knew it,” Mendez told the Villager.

"I remember some members of the Senate hiring members of their family, and I also remember that there were members of the same family working in the same units, which really, I thought was not a good situation to have. I don't remember any leaders hiring members of their family before," Paterson said after announcing more stringent measures against people who drive drunk with children in their cars. He was referring to the hiring and then resignation of Pedro G. Espada by the State Senate.

"I think that what I might think about isn't even as much that this happens so often, but the relationships sometimes between legislators and some of the not-for-profits that we support and some of the relationships there," Paterson said. "It might be something that the attorney general might consider looking at as well, but this is more of a legal matter, and I'll leave that to the attorney general."

Paterson didn't name any names here, but the sentiments apply to the persistent questions about Espada's Soundview Health Care network, for which he was indicted for improperly channeling funds. (And found not guilty.)

It also could apply to the United Jewish Council of the East Side, which has ties to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and City Councilman Alan Gerson.