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NYC’s Maimonides merger advances despite concerns from Orthodox Jewish community
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Mar 2, 2026
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By
Caroline Lewis
Published Mar 2, 2026
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Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park is on track to become part of the city's public hospital system by April 1, even as an ongoing lawsuit aims to stop the city takeover, according to the head of NYC Health and Hospitals.
The top priority once the merger is complete will be renovating Maimonides’ bustling maternity ward and getting the financially struggling medical center on a better footing, Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health and Hospitals, told City Council members at a hearing on the merger Monday.
Katz also outlined other potential benefits of the deal for patients — including an updated medical records system and more funding for support staff — and responded to concerns some in the Orthodox Jewish community have raised in recent months that a city takeover of Maimonides would erode the hundred-year-old hospital’s cultural accommodations.
Hatzolah of Boro Park, which operates an ambulance fleet in the area, wrote a letter opposing the proposed merger shortly after it was announced in October.
“We understand the critical role the Orthodox community has played in creating and supporting the hospital and we look forward to honoring that,” Katz said at Monday’s hearing.
He added that the hospital, named for a rabbi and physician who lived 800 years ago, will retain its name.
Asked Monday about a pending lawsuit opposing the deal, Katz responded that there’s currently no injunction in place that would prevent the merger from moving forward.
Maimonides’ Board of Trustees voted to approve the merger last year. But a group of dissenting Board members sued hospital leaders in November to block the deal, arguing that the city’s public hospitals have a history of providing substandard care and that the deal would harm Maimonides’ ability to serve the Jewish community.
In court documents, Katz has noted that the agreement between Maimonides and the city requires the preservation of existing religious and cultural practices at the hospital for at least 30 years. At Monday's hearing, he added that his goal is to retain Maimonides’ existing doctors and other staff.
The merger still needs state approval before the parties can finalize the deal. The state health department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
But the partnership has the support of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has pledged $2.2 billion for Maimonides over five years if the merger moves forward.
If the deal is finalized, $500 million of the state funding that’s been pledged for Maimonides will go toward the new maternity ward, and the city will work to keep the current maternity ward operational while completing the updates, Katz said.
Maimonides delivers about 6,000 babies a year — six times as many as most public hospitals in the city, Katz noted.
“The women deserve a nice ward, not the ward they’re currently in,” he said.
Like the hospitals run by the city, Maimonides is considered a safety net hospital, treating a large volume of low-income patients.
If Maimonides becomes part of the public hospital system, Katz said, the medical center will be entitled to a higher reimbursement rate from Medicaid, the public insurance program for low-income residents.
He said that it will immediately increase revenue at the medical center by about $9 million per month. Once the hospital is more financially stable, the city will be able to bring in sorely needed support staff, Katz added.
The city’s plan also involves updating Maimonides’ antiquated electronic medical record system and giving patients access to the NYC Health and Hospitals’ MyChart app to review their test results, make appointments and access other health information.
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Health and Science
brooklyn
new york city
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Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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