NEW YORK _ Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., suffered a medical episode in Manhattan on Monday morning.
Maloney, 73, appeared to be on the verge of fainting after delivering remarks at a news conference in Chinatown. The Manhattan congresswoman told a staffer that she felt pain and couldn't see.
Her staff escorted her to a bench where she sat, slumped over, for about 15 minutes as a staffer for Comptroller Scott Stringer called 911.
"She was ill. She got up and I guess she felt faint," witness Nikita Price, 62, said. "Somebody put cold soda on the back of her neck."
Maloney, who is serving her 14th term in Congress, was escorted out of view of the press and taken to Lower Manhattan Hospital. She was still there a couple hours later.
"The congresswoman is feeling better and is in good spirits," Maloney rep Elise Anderson told the New York Daily News. "She is waiting to hear from her doctor to see when she is able to return home and continue to rest."
Maloney and other politicians were attending a community vigil and press conference in Kimlau Square after four homeless men were brutally murdered in Chinatown over the weekend.
The congresswoman was expected to attend another event at City Hall later on Monday afternoon to unveil federal legislation that would prohibit non-essential helicopters from flying within New York City airspace.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be canceling today's press conference," her rep Anderson emailed.
Maloney is the second-oldest congress member representing New York City. Rep. Jose Serrano, the oldest at 75, announced earlier this year that he won't seek reelection after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
The city's two other septuagenarians in the House are Reps. Jerry Nadler and Eliot Engel, both 72.
Nadler was also taken to a hospital earlier this year after nearly fainting during a press conference with Mayor de Blasio in May. Nadler said after the medical scare that he was hot and dehydrated.
