HOBOKEN – After months of complicated twists and turns, the sale of Hoboken University Medical Center to a group from Bayonne Medical Center is expected to be finalized on Nov. 1, relieving city taxpayers of a $52 million bond guarantee made in 2007 and saving the city from a potential bankruptcy.
The sale process had already been completed by the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority (HMHA), a municipal board chaired by resident Toni Tomarazzo, but a parking agreement needed to be approved by the council to pave the way to the finish line.
The Hoboken City Council voted 8-0 on Sunday night to immediately make a parking agreement effective between the city and the new hospital owners in front a passionate, standing room only crowd of concerned citizens and hospital employees. Councilwoman Theresa Castellano was absent.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer released a statement after the vote on Sunday evening.
“Since my first day as mayor more than two years ago, the saving of our hospital has been my number one priority,” Zimmer said. “The effort to save our hospital has been a long road, but today our community saved it together.”
Before the sale of HUMC could be completed, the new owners, HUMC Holdco, wanted a parking agreement in place for 1,000 parking transponders in three city garages.
Four members of the City Council who generally oppose Zimmer failed to vote to make the agreement effective last Tuesday in a special meeting, causing the buyer to cancel a proposed sale closing on Wednesday. The parking agreement itself had passed by a 5-4 vote on Tuesday, but to skip the usual 20-day waiting period for ordinances, a separate “emergency” resolution needed six votes.
Zimmer serves on the HMHA, and her council opponents have called the sale “the mayor’s deal.”
Shortly before the council meeting, the four members who previously voted against making the agreement effective announced that they negotiated with attorneys from Holdco to implement a deal that would secure their vote. The new provisions included “the establishment of several community health programs as a giveback in exchange for the 99-year parking agreement.
These programs include pro bono medical services for low-income residents, a women’s healthcare center, a sports and alternative medicine program, and a senior citizen services program.
The four council minority members will also be able to designate a person for a seat on the hospital board.
Before the vote, many hospital employees spoke to support their colleagues, with some pleading for their jobs.
“Please allow us to continue to help the city of Hoboken,” said Susan Costomiris, the director of social work at HUMC.
The council members aligned with the mayor criticized the council minority.
Councilman David Mello, a Zimmer ally, characterized the announcement of the minority’s agreement as “bush league” and “absurd.”
The council majority believed their opponents on the council were trying to score political points with the late announcement to save the day.
Council President Ravinder Bhalla said the agreement “on a political level, doesn’t pass the smell test.”
But Councilman Michael Russo, who often opposes the mayor, said that in the long run, “the agreement will be stronger” because of his allies’ last-minute negotiations.
For many in the crowd, they didn’t care about the political rhetoric, but just wanted to know the fate of their jobs.
“We cannot go through another week like this,” said Marjorie Boyden-Edmonds, the chaplain at HUMC. “This is your hospital. You need to appreciate it, protect it, and not treat it as if it’s a toy.”
The chief transition officer for Holdco, Phillip Schaengold, will be the new Chief Executive Officer of HUMC.
For more coverage of this issue, keep reading HudsonReporter.com or see the links below. – Ray Smith
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