Metropolitan Pediatrics New York City P.C.

Dr Sasala was absolutely lovely, very professional, and kid friendly. Re: other reviews here — there was a wait but having lived in three different countries, I have always had to wait for a doctor. It’s just the name of the game. Definitely will go back.

The only downside about Metropolitan Pediatrics is the wait time. And I’m usually picky about that, but Dr. Harmon is worth the wait. And she is always apologetic. When we wait for her, I know it’s not because she doesn’t respect our time; it’s because she wants to give her patients before us all the time and attention they deserve, just like she does for us every time. My two daughters have both seen Dr. Harmon almost since they were born (my oldest is 5). I can’t even put into words how much I admire and respect her. She is a phenomenal doctor. She listens, she takes her time, she appreciates what a phenomenal responsibility it is to be a doctor caring for small children.
While Dr. Harmon is in a class by herself, we have, by and large, had good experiences with the other doctors in the practice, as well as the NP. We had one not-​so-​great experience with Dr. Sasala, but I don’t expect perfection — our experiences with him have, for the most part, been great. Is Dr. Burke still there? We love her. Bronwen, the NP, was also great. I mean, what can I say? This place is great.

We absolutely love Dr. Harmon! She has been amazing for our two girls, in particular my youngest who has severe allergies. She is experienced, kind, understanding, professional and wonderful. The office staff has been efficient as well.

The quality of Metropolitan Pediatrics has a lot to do with which doctors you see. My absolute favorite was Dr. Sassala. I really liked his bedside manner both with me and my kids. I never felt like he was rushing me, and he always gave me thoughtful and considered answers to my questions. I found him very easy to talk to.
When at first we had trouble getting our baby to sleep, he suggested a method that we weren’t ready to try. Later, we went with some of his suggestions and it made a world of difference. I appreciated his attitude in that he was always trying to get me to think of my needs as a parent as well, rather than sacrificing my comfort for my baby.
We also liked Dr. Harmon’s warm and calming presence. She is a great listener and a cautious doctor. She helped us through a bout of jaundice with our infant, and she was highly responsive.
Dr. Palathra, on the other hand, is very unfriendly. She did not take a single moment to talk to my kid during a sick visit in order to put her at ease. I left that visit feeling like she doesn’t even like kids. I would never see her again.

I couldn’t give this office 5 stars because of their wait time. I think it’s because the doctor takes her time with all of her patients. Their office is clean/​neat, the staff is nice and the best doctor in this office is Dr. Harmon. She has been taking care of my baby for the past 5 months and we couldn’t be happier with our choice. Easy to get last minute appointments, always a plus. There’s also a parking lot right next door to the office in case we aren’t able to find parking on the street. Dr. Harmon takes the time to call us to let us know about test results and she reaches out to us to find out how the baby is doing when she’s sick etc. We’ve gotten calls from her even on the weekend! We live in NJ and we drive into the city to see her. Although it’s a pain in the butt to drive in NYC traffic, we love Dr. Harmon and don’t mind the drive.

Highly recommend Dr. Harmon! She is compassionate, sharp, well seasoned physician. I am so glad we found her for our LO.

All the doctors in the office have the best bedside manners. Never a long wait to see doctor. Easy to make an appointment for the same day if necessary. Staff is very friendly from the receptionist to the nurses. When my son was admitted to Roosevelt Hospital PICU one of the doctors from the office was there everyday to check in on our son. I can’t say enough about this pediatric office. Highly, Highly recommend them.

For some reason, a Five Star Reviewer said upon looking at my review that I was — Well, let me quote it for you … «I strongly disagree with virtually everything said in the one-​star review below, which appears to have been written by an admittedly lazy disgruntled fan of a former employee of the practice.»
Yeah, I liked some of the doctors who left (There have been MANY), but I’m smart enough to realize when my kids are not getting the care they deserve. So I got off my «lazy» bottom and we are now somewhere else … and getting wonderful care.
And yeah, the waiting room is small. Much smaller now than when they occupied the earlier space. Maybe the other reviewer’s apartment is smaller than mine and she’s used to being crammed in. I’m not. :)

If you feed your children McDonald’s, might as well take them to the McDoctor too. And that’s what this place is. All they need is a drive-​thru to complete the picture.
Don’t get me wrong, our Doctor, she was really nice. But the way the place is run, she has a very limited time to spend with the patients. Fill over a dozen small cold rooms with children and attend to them with a very limited staff. Everyone seems extremely rushed, and when you do have a question, you can tell that they are just waiting to get out and go to the next room in this bag ‘em, tag’em and get them out the door operation.
I see that all the reviews for this practice are five stars of love, or one star of don’t bother. We took our newborn there twice, and that’s all it took to not make another appointment. It’s small, cold, the rooms are unequipped, they all share a baby scale that’s in the middle of the hallway, and it’s just a very unwelcoming place that you just don’t want to spend any time at. They bill your insurance, you walk out the door, and just feel used rather than helped.
We chose this place because it was close, that’s it. But today we trekked down to 57^th Street and had the most amazing doctors visit. It was a checkup to get our girl (now three weeks) registered and to get acquainted with the new Pediatrician. The rooms were huge compared to Metropolitan, they were well equipped, the nurse didn’t have to leave every couple minutes to go get something, they don’t have to send bloodwork out and get back to you later, they do everything right there, there’s a nice digital scale in every room, the Doctor spent a considerable amount of time with us and gave us alot of great advice that we wouldn’t have gotten at the other place, and it was just all around well staffed and friendly. A place that will watch our child grow for years to come.
Anyhow, I’m not trying to be mean, just delivering the cold hard facts. Try it if you like, but Metropolitan McPediatrics will never hear from us again. It was just an all around Mcbad experience…

My daughter is small, very small. She was 3 years old and a mere 22 pounds. Worried about her size, I took her to Dr. Harmon. She had me keep a food journal for my daughter to make sure she was eating properly and suggested blood work to check the thyroid but said she would do that at a later date as to not scare the baby. Two weeks later we came back. She was weighed again and blood was taken. A few days later Dr. Harmon called (not her office, but her) saying the blood work came back fine. She told me that there was nothing wrong with my daughter; she was small simply because she was small. To be sure of this, she had a bone density/​bone age test performed. When those results came in, she personally called again.
Appointments are easy to get. Front desk personnel are rather cold but you’re not going to the office to see them now are you? Waiting times are average: sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 45, but that’s with any doctor. The waiting room is cramped but pleasant; Nick Jr. on the television, books, easel and crayons, the children are well entertained while waiting.
Highly recommend this office!

Parking garage right next door to office.
Backup Drs on staff in case your pediatrician is unavailable.
Separate waiting area for infants/​newborns so that rambunctious little toddlers don’t accidentally hurt your baby.
Easy to get appointments. My Dr, is affiliated with St Luke’s hospital.
Love it, love it, LOVE IT!