Jersey City officials are taking the future of the shuttered Heights University Hospital site into their own hands.
The City Council passed a resolution on March 25 directing the Planning Commission to study the site and make recommendations, which could include seizing the land to build a public hospital.
The resolution passed 8-0, and Ward B Councilman Joel A. Brooks resigned. Brooks works for the Healthcare and Allied Employees Union, which represents some of the hospital’s former employees.
Jake Efros, the city’s D-Ward representative, said the resolution is a “first step for the City Council to think about what we can do next.”
“It seems like we ultimately need to condemn this place and use prominent territory so we can fill in the blanks for what happens next,” said Efros, a vocal supporter of turning the facility into a public hospital.
Famous domains are optional, but city officials have made it clear there is no predetermined outcome.
“This is just a first step and does not commit the city to making this site a prominent domain,” said Ward E Councilor Eleana Little.
“If, for example, the county wanted to make that area prominent, this would also be a first step. So basically this preliminary study just leaves our options open,” Little said.
Vijay Chaudhry, a spokesman for hospital owner Hudson Regional Health, said that beyond making this prestigious area “unusually expensive and time-consuming,” it “does nothing to solve the fundamental challenges inherited by His Royal Highness at Heights University Hospital.”
Instead, Hudson Regional hopes to work with the city to identify a viable long-term solution for the site.
“This includes building a new, state-of-the-art facility through a redevelopment process that will expand affordable housing, generate much-needed recognition, and also avoid burdening Jersey City taxpayers with tens of millions of dollars in an already difficult financial climate,” Chaudhry said in a statement.
But Jersey City Mayor James Solomon said officials didn’t come to the decision overnight.
“It has become clear that this location is not just a prime location, but has been exploited and exploited by corporate actors for far too long,” Solomon said in a video posted to Jersey City’s Facebook page.
Hudson Regional operated the hospital, but it did not own the land on which the hospital was built. The company said the land is owned by Avery Eisenreich, owner of the nursing home chain Alaris Health.
Alaris Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
This is the latest development in the escalating showdown over Heights University Hospital, formerly known as Christ Hospital.
It was just a year ago that Hudson Regional Health in federal bankruptcy court took over struggling Christ Hospital and two other hospitals from CarePoint Health System, promising a high-performance health care network and financial stability.
But a lot can change in a year.
Less than six months after taking over the historic Jersey City hospital, Hudson Regional announced in September 2025 that it would have to suspend non-essential services unless it received millions of dollars in federal aid.
The company pumped $100 million into operations to keep its doors open. They also received aid from the state. In October 2025, the New Jersey Department of Health advanced nearly $2 million in charity care funds to hospitals to avoid service interruptions. The state also provided an additional $2 million in grants to help hospitals with payroll.
Despite this, hospitals continued to lose money due to Medicaid cuts, reductions in charity care, rising rates of uninsured patients, and a lack of state funding. The hospital on Palisade Avenue closed in November 2025 after more than 150 years of operation.
The blow was initially softened by Hudson Regional’s promise to continue operating the standalone ER. But two months into the new year, the company announced plans to close the ER as well.
The announcement sparked a public backlash that culminated in protests at the hospital on March 14, resulting in two arrests. Two people were arrested and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest and obstruction, according to municipal court records. The charge is a petty disorderly offense.
Isaac Jimenez, a member of the Northern New Jersey chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, was one of two protesters arrested for trying to bring the demonstration inside the hospital. NJ.com typically does not publish the names of individuals charged with minor crimes, but Jimenez gave NJ.com permission to use his name.
“Our arrests for trying to bring demonstrations into hospitals are nothing compared to the illegal closure of hospitals at the hands of HRH, resulting in thousands of fines and taking away enough hospital beds for Jersey City,” Jimenez said in a statement.
Jimenez said the Democratic Socialist Party of America plans to continue organizing around the health care needs of the Heights community.
Local residents are invited to attend a public hearing hosted by the New Jersey Department of Health on April 15 regarding the Certificate of Need application for the closure of Heights University Hospital. The public hearing is scheduled to take place from 5 to 7 p.m.
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