Five days into the New York City nurses’ strike, only one of the three hospital systems affected by the walkout had returned to the negotiating table as both sides appeared to dig in for a protracted battle.
Representatives from NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital and the nurses’ union resumed talks Thursday evening and met for several hours. But they left far from a resolution.
The union’s proposals are “unreasonable,” and future meetings will be scheduled through a mediator, Angela Karafazli, a NewYork-Presbyterian spokeswoman, said in a statement.
“While we continue to be far apart, we are committed to bargaining in good faith,” Ms. Karafazli said. “We are committed to safe staffing and have the best staffing ratios in the city.”
There were no plans for negotiations involving the nurses and the other two major health systems targeted by the strike, Mount Sinai and Montefiore Medical Center.
“Unfortunately, we’ve made no progress over the last two days,” Brendan G. Carr, the chief executive of Mount Sinai, said in a statement. “I hope we will be back at the negotiating table working toward a resolution soon.”
Nearly 15,000 nurses went on strike at dawn on Monday, saying that the action was necessary to improve staffing levels, pay and security at hospitals.
Diana Diaz, 32, a nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian, said that the strike reflects ongoing tension and contract disagreements.
“We’ve been trying to avoid this for months, and we can’t do this anymore,” Ms. Diaz said.
As the strike persists, the New York State Health Department said it has not received reports of emergency patients being diverted to other hospitals or of operational issues related to the walkout. The New York City Emergency Management Department has not reported major consequences for the health system stemming from the strike.
For the nurses who took to picket lines clad in red stocking caps and scarves, safety on the job loomed as one of their major concerns — and as one of the major issues that prompted them to walk off the job. They shared stories about the strain of caring for patients while trying to protect themselves from violent episodes.
Dania Munoz, a nurse practitioner at Mount Sinai, recalled leaving the hospital in November as a gunman threatened to harm the emergency department. She saw police officers outside and asked if she should go back inside or leave. Ms. Munoz said that she was told only to “avoid a certain street.”
“There was no information from Mount Sinai to let us know, shelter in place, be safe or don’t go outside,” Ms. Munoz said. “Nurses were coming down the block and said they had heard gunshots. All the information we were getting was word of mouth.”
According to police, Elijah Brown, 20, entered the emergency department and walked out to place a gun beside a tree before walking back in. Mr. Brown encountered an off-duty police officer and told him that he had a gun. They scuffled, but Mr. Brown left and picked up the gun and soon after was fatally shot by police officers.
In a statement, the hospital said that many of the facts about the episode were not clear until afterward, but that once officials were able to understand the threat, the emergency department was placed on lockdown and staff were told to shelter in place.
Last week, police shot and killed a man inside NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. According to officials, the patient, Michael Lynch, 62, was armed with a “sharp weapon” and had cut himself and barricaded himself in a room with a security guard and a patient. Hospital workers said that Mr. Lynch had threatened to kill them.
The New York State Nurses Association, which represents the striking nurses, said that the hospitals have rejected their solutions to address workplace violence. Montefiore officials refuted those claims, saying that they have rolled out initiatives to keep nurses safe, including a police presence, highly trained security personnel and panic buttons that nurses can wear.
Esther Pottoore, a registered nurse at the Montefiore Family Health Center, said that hospitals have become extremely unsafe for nurses. She has observed nurses being accused of escalating situations when they try to block a patient from hurting them.
“If you try and respond, then you are being aggressive,” Dr. Pottoore said.
NewYork-Presbyterian officials said in a statement that they are committed to workplace security and are “constantly” implementing initiatives to enhance safety.
Mount Sinai said it had adopted a five-year plan in 2024 to enhance safety that addresses weapon detection and expands the security team.
Kenneth E. Raske, the president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said that the claims from the nurses’ union are “extraordinarily misleading.” He said that the hospital group had begun talks addressing workplace violence with unions representing health care workers.
Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation requiring hospitals to develop violence prevention programs and safety and security plans.
“The legislation that we supported was passed and signed into law,” Mr. Raske said. He said he found it “unfortunate” that leaders of the nurses’ union “would characterize the hospitals as not being cooperative.”
National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the country, released a report in 2024 that found that eight in 10 nurses had experienced at least one type of workplace violence within the previous year. Nearly 50 percent of nurses said workplace violence had increased on their unit.
During a news conference at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital on Thursday, Sheryl Ostroff, who has been a nurse for more than 20 years, said that she had been assaulted while caring for patients.
“I have been bitten in multiple places, I have been kicked to the ribs where it leaves bruises, spit on, pushed, punched, sexually assaulted — you name it,” Ms. Ostroff said.
Amid the violence and mental distress, she has avoided throwing her hands up and quitting because she sees the “humanity” in her patients. As thousands of nurses prepared for the fifth day of the strike, she said that the hospitals needed to redouble their efforts to protect the staff.
“My job is to care for patients,” she said. “It’s their job to find the way for me to be able to do it in a safe manner.”
Olivia Bensimon contributed reporting.
Samantha Latson is a Times reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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