The Fort Trumbull area, long ago shorn of its homes, remains largely undeveloped despite its spectacular views and access to public utilities.

Downtown New London continues to struggle, temporary artwork placed in vacant windows in an attempt to make the discouraging look not so bad. Merchants and city residents await the plan to turn things around.

Meanwhile, given the fiscal problems at the state level, the tax-stressed city could well face serious challenges providing public services in the years to come.

And those are just a few of the challenges New London faces. Mayor Michael Passero, now nine months in office, and the City Council have plenty of work to do.

So, why, we ask, are they sticking their collective noses into the business of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and instructing the Office of Health Care Access how to fulfill its responsibilities?

Yale-New Haven Health System and Lawrence + Memorial Healthcare have asked the OHCA to approve a formal affiliation. The mayor and council are concerned.

As we’ve noted before, L+M and Yale have a history of cooperative ventures and providing good care. With a formal affiliation, L+M patients would could gain more access to Yale services and be able to participate in the many clinical trials conducted by Yale-New Haven.

Fiscally, savings will come in part from reductions in administrative costs and integration of such back-office functions as human resources, legal counsel and financial services.

Under the proposed affiliation, both L+M and its affiliate, Westerly Hospital, retain their separate hospital licenses and boards of directors, but add representation from Yale-New Haven.

The arrangement will provide L+M with fiscal stability and assure that its patients and those at Westerly continue to have access to superior care.

But the unions at L+M are worried about what the affiliation, and its aim to reduce costs, will mean. The press conference was organized by Councilor Martha Marx, president of the union that represents L+M visiting nurses. Carrying the union’s water is what the press conference was about. Speakers expressed concern about a rushed OHCA decision and wanted assurances about controlling health care costs and maintaining access to care.

Absent was council President Erica Richardson, who works for Yale-New Haven.

The state regulators have heard ample testimony and received plenty of documentation. We trust they will take the time necessary to evaluate the information. The six councilors and the mayor, having assuaged the unions, should now get back to the business of the city.