Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC’s Maimonides merger advances despite concerns from Orthodox Jewish community
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Mar 2, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Mar 2, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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.
Tagged
Health and Science
brooklyn
new york city
public health
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].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .