State Approves NYC Takeover of Struggling Maimonides Hospital Amid Community Pushback
State regulators gave the green light for New York City’s Health + Hospitals to assume control of the financially troubled Maimonides Medical Center, despite strong objections from local Orthodox groups and nearby residents.
State officials approved the acquisition of Maimonides Medical Center by the city-run Health + Hospitals network, a deal first proposed under former Mayor Eric Adams and continued by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Governor Kathy Hochul pledged $2.2 billion over five years to cover the hospital’s deficits and keep operations running. Health + Hospitals president Mitchell Katz pledged to retain kosher meals, Jewish burial customs, and to improve Medicaid reimbursements and technology infrastructure.
The agreement faced fierce resistance from Orthodox rabbis, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, and the Coalition to Preserve Maimonides, which has filed a lawsuit claiming the takeover is unlawful. Supporters, including the Health Care Association of New York State and local nursing unions, argued the merger is the only viable option to save the 711-bed facility that serves low-income, Medicaid-dependent patients across several Brooklyn neighborhoods. Critics warned that private operators had already walked away from the financially distressed hospital, leaving the state as the last resort.
Why it matters
The takeover determines whether a key safety-net hospital in Brooklyn will stay open and continue serving low-income residents.
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