Weinstein's lawyers made the request on Wednesday as jury selection resumed for a second day, arguing that his stay at the city's notorious Rikers Island jail complex is exacerbating his health issues and that he would be better off in the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
The 73-year-old disgraced movie mogul arrived in court in a wheelchair, as he has at all of his recent court appearances, and leaned back in it to peer at prospective jurors as prosecutors and his lawyers took turns asking them questions to gauge their ability to be impartial.
After initially indicating he could be fair, one prospective juror returned to the courtroom and said he didn't think he could.
"Defence counsel asked my reaction to the defendant's name and the first word that came in my head was 'pig,'" said the man, who works as an investment banker.
"And I apologise, but I feel a great sense of responsibility as a citizen and I take this stuff seriously."
Weinstein's lawyers and prosecutors were working Wednesday afternoon to pare down a group of about 25 prospective jurors to fill the first spots on the jury of 12 jurors and six alternates. So far, no one has been chosen.
Weinstein has been back and forth numerous times to Bellevue in recent months for treatment of various maladies.
The Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare In Love producer has numerous health conditions, including chronic myeloid leukemia, heart issues, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, sciatica and severe limitations on his ability to walk. A recent tongue infection was misdiagnosed at Rikers, requiring hospitalisation, and he has gained nearly nine kilograms in the past month, his lawyer Imran Ansari said.
In a statement, Ansari said Weinstein is also subjected to freezing temperatures at Rikers and isn't provided with clean clothing.
Weinstein's lawyers filed a legal claim against New York City in November, alleging he was receiving substandard medical treatment in unhygienic conditions at Rikers.
Judge Curtis Farber has yet to rule on the transfer request, and the issue wasn't discussed in court before jury selection resumed on Wednesday morning.
The first day ended on Tuesday with no one chosen for the panel. Wednesday kicked off with two dozen prospective jurors being brought to the courtroom for more questioning after making it through an initial round a day earlier.
Weinstein is being tried again after New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, last year overturned his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial, finding that improper rulings and prejudicial testimony tainted the original one.
Weinstein is being retried on two charges from his original trial. He is accused of raping an aspiring actor in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and a criminal sex act by forcing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant in 2006.
He is also charged with one count of criminal sex act based on an allegation from a woman who was not a part of the original trial. That woman, who has asked not to be named publicly, alleges that Weinstein forced oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone.
