Attack & Conquest x The Floating Hospital "Lila" Bandana

Attack & Conquest is proud to announce the launch of our first mission: The Floating Hospital Lila Bandana.

Our Lila Bandanas were produced at a small print facility in Yokohama, Japan using 100% cotton and printed with real indigo that will fade beautifully and naturally over time. 50% of the profit from each piece sold will benefit the Floating Hospital. $30, available on The Floating Hospital's webshop:

https://www.thefloatinghospital.org/shop/#iLightbox[2690ee4c5773c614a9c]/0

From the moment we stepped through the doors adorned with a little boat logo underneath the Queensboro Plaza #7 train stop, we knew The Floating Hospital was not your typical American healthcare institution. The warmth and smiles of the staff  who greeted us comforted us at a time when we needed it most. When we met the nurses and doctors, it became apparent that this was a team in which every member was invested in their job, and that this establishment wasn't a business but a genuine care facility.  

Founded in 1866 on literally a ship, The Floating Hospital was one of New York City's very first healthcare charities. Their primary goal was taking care of sick children in tenements. Over the years their net grew to encompass immigrants, discharged soldiers, and otherwise disenfranchised. In those early days, the organization cared for those in need by providing a place to bathe as well as basic nutrition in the form of milk, beer, and bread. Ailments were hand written in the ship's log and treated with not only prescription medicine but with fresh sea air; a welcome escape from the daily stench of manure combined with burning charcoal that all but asphyxiated the tenement dwellers. 

The boat featured in this bandana design is the final actual floating hospital, the Lila Acheson Wallace. It was in operation from the summer of 1973 until 2003. It was named after the co-founder and co-chairman of Reader's Digest, an advocate for the arts  who donated the money necessary to name the ship after her and whose philanthropies during her lifetime topped $60 million. 

Fun fact: the June K.,the orange and black tug that towed the Lila to its final resting place, belonged to my father's family business. It was named after my Grandma June. 

The first land-based floating hospital was at Seaside Hospital in Staten Island, and they operated out of 5 different locations before anchoring in Long Island City, Queens. Today, the Floating Hospital remains one of NYC's last charities of its kind. They do something that most other medical institutions serving the general public do, which is help educate their patients and the public housing communities of their surrounding Queens neighborhoods about nutrition, self-esteem, and life skills, thus empowering them to take their health into their own hands. They also recently re-launched a summer camp for sheltered teens.

 

We owe a personal debt of gratitude to The Floating Hospital; this past February, right before Covid ravaged NYC, our co-founder Kenji was diagnosed and treated for stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Hemophagocytic Syndrome. Had it not been for The Floating Hospital's willingness to perform blood tests and provide results to an uninsured Green Card holder who is 1/2 of a small husband and wife business, he never would have made it. He is since 100% cancer free, having designed the Lila Bandana from his hospital bed in between excruciating chemotherapy treatments. We are both proud and grateful for the opportunity to bring you this tribute to The Floating Hospital which helped save Kenji's life, and to support them in their mission to provide health care as a basic and fundamental human right-especially now, when it is needed most.