Brooklyn Elected Leaders Back New Plan to Preserve Maimonides, Urge Hochul to Pause H+H Transfer
Seven Brooklyn elected officials are backing a new plan to preserve Maimonides Medical Center. In a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, they are asking her to hold the closing of the hospital's proposed transfer to NYC Health + Hospitals until the independent review laid out in the plan has been completed.
In the October 15 letter, Senators Sam Sutton and Stephen Chan, Assemblymembers Simcha Eichenstein, Kalman Yeger, and Lester Chang, and Councilmembers Susan Zhuang and Simcha Felder included "A Plan to Preserve Maimonides Medical Center." The plan was developed by the Maimonides Community Coalition and Healthcare Management Partners, which the lawmakers described as "a firm with expertise in turning around distressed hospitals."
"We all want Maimonides to remain financially strong and able to serve Brooklyn for generations to come," the lawmakers wrote. "The question is how best to achieve that goal — and we believe that question deserves an independent answer, not one that begins with a predetermined conclusion."
"There is now a practical way to get that answer," they continued, pointing to the plan.
"We therefore respectfully urge you to hold the closing of the proposed transfer until the independent review set out in the enclosed Plan has been completed, and to give that review a fair chance to work," they wrote.
"The Review We Asked For"
The lawmakers said that in August they jointly asked the Public Health and Health Planning Council for "a full, independent, open-books analysis of Maimonides' financial condition and every viable path forward before an irreversible decision is made." That analysis, they wrote, "has not yet been done, and the transfer is now moving toward closing."
According to the elected officials, the new plan "would provide the review we asked for."
Under the plan, they wrote, "qualified experts would conduct a rigorous, open-books examination of the hospital's finances, operations, revenue cycle, staffing, payer mix, and other factors affecting its financial performance; identify the specific, measurable changes necessary to return Maimonides to financial stability; and then fairly examine every realistic path forward — including NYC Health + Hospitals — on the same terms, using the same underlying data."
The lawmakers also stressed that the plan "would be funded from the support the State has already committed."
What the Plan Proposes
The plan calls for using a portion of the state's existing $2.2 billion commitment to pay for an independent assessment, an operational turnaround, and an open search for a permanent partner. It asks the state to pause the H+H takeover, not to cut off financial support for the hospital. Already-committed operating funds would keep supporting Maimonides, and the money would be released as published milestones are met.
Maimonides would keep its ownership, assets, and workforce during the process. H+H could stay on as the state's partner under the grant and provide services by contract.
The first stage would be a 90- to 120-day assessment by HMP or another qualified firm, covering the hospital's finances, billing and collections, staffing, lengths of stay, medical staff, facilities, and market position. The findings would be published along with a turnaround plan, an operating budget, and measurable benchmarks. A second stage, lasting one to two years, would focus on operational improvements, with the goal of reaching positive cash flow after debt service without ongoing state operating subsidies.
In the final stage, the hospital would invite competing partnership proposals from systems such as Northwell Health and NYU Langone, and H+H would be considered on the same terms. Finalists would present to the medical staff and a community advisory council before the Maimonides board votes.
"No Fear of the Facts"
The lawmakers said they are not taking a position for or against the transfer itself. But they argued that the review the plan calls for would benefit Brooklyn no matter where it leads.
"An independent review is not an effort to delay the process indefinitely. It is an effort to ensure that Brooklyn gets the best Maimonides possible going forward," they wrote.
"If an independent analysis demonstrates that joining NYC Health + Hospitals is the strongest and most sustainable option, that conclusion will be far more persuasive if it emerges from a transparent process that fairly considered the alternatives. Conversely, if the analysis identifies a viable path to financial independence or another partnership, the State should know that before a permanent transfer takes place. There should be no fear of the facts."
The lawmakers also criticized how the process has played out so far. "The future of a century-old community institution should not be decided through a process that appears to have moved forward behind closed doors, without the public having access to the information necessary to understand the decision being made on its behalf," they wrote.
A Hospital for All of Brooklyn
The elected officials highlighted Maimonides' role in serving Brooklyn's diverse neighborhoods, including Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic families as well as Black, Latino, Caribbean, Muslim, Asian, Russian-speaking, and immigrant communities. "For generations, families throughout our neighborhoods have relied on Maimonides not simply for medical care, but for the relationships, cultural understanding, and continuity of care that a community hospital provides," they wrote.
They also said they are "especially concerned by recent reports of physician departures from Maimonides as the result of the H+H transaction." They pointed as well to legal questions raised by counsel for Maimonides trustees and community organizations, which are now before the courts. These questions involve the law governing H+H, obligations to employees, and a Health Equity Impact Assessment the letter says "did not study the community that relies on the hospital most."
"Maimonides has served Brooklyn for more than a century," the lawmakers concluded. "We are not asking you to reject the proposed transfer, nor are we asking you to approve it. We are asking you to determine — through a fair, independent, and transparent process — whether it is truly the best option before making it permanent. Brooklyn deserves nothing less."
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