Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Access topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Jersey City council adopts ordinance to protect former Christ Hospital site amid community outcry
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing with dozens of nurses, union leaders and neighborhood residents, the Jersey City Municipal Council adopted ordinance 25‑1‑24 to restrict primary uses in the Medical Zone and preserve hospital services at the former Christ Hospital site; the vote was 8–0–1 with one abstention.
The Jersey City Municipal Council voted to adopt city ordinance 25‑1‑24 on the council's December meeting to limit primary uses in the Medical Zone and make clear that senior housing and assisted living cannot replace acute medical services at the former Christ Hospital site. The council adopted the ordinance by roll call, 8–0–1, with Councilperson Soleil recorded as abstaining.
The ordinance’s sponsors said the change is intended to preserve emergency services, inpatient and specialized care on property zoned for medical use. “The express purpose of the medical district is to recognize existing medical facilities and other medical‑related uses,” a co‑sponsor read into the record, arguing that permitting senior housing as a predominant use would undermine that purpose.
The council heard sustained public testimony before the vote. Debbie White, president of HPAE, said health care workers and patients were harmed when owners reduced inpatient services and laid off staff: “Don’t let Christ Hospital simply become high‑priced condos, please.” Rebecca Lowe, president of HPAE Local 5186 at Christ Hospital, urged the council to “ensure that the community will continue to have access to medical services and an acute community hospital.”
Several residents and advocates described the broader consequences of reduced local capacity. Liam Paiva Costa, co‑chair of a health justice working group, told the council it had legal authority to override a planning finding and warned that losing a hospital would make it harder to rebuild that capacity in the future. “People will die if this hospital remains closed,” he said.
Council members cited a history of ownership changes, alleged financial mismanagement, and a 2012 land sale that separated hospital operations from the property as a structural problem that required action. Councilmember Solomon said the ordinance is a necessary step to prevent proposals that “remov[e] all health care uses and make either senior housing or assisted living the main or only use in the district.”
The final ordinance text removes two residential uses from the list of permitted primary uses in the Medical Zone so that future redevelopment proposals must prioritize hospital and medical services. The council recorded the adoption on the evening’s consent and resolution section.
Next steps: the ordinance is now the law of the city; sponsors and advocates said they will continue to press state authorities and prospective operators to restore and maintain acute care capacity at the site.
