Holy Name medical center converted an unused space on its campus into 36 beds for coronavirus patients during the height of the pandemic.Jeff Rhode/Holy Name Medical Center
Five months after Teaneck officials approved a long-term renovation of Holy Name, a group of homeowners near the medical center asked a judge to block the expansion of the 361-bed acute care facility.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in state Superior Court in Hackensack, seeks to overturn ordinances granted by the township council and planning board that change the zoning of the current Holy Name site and several surrounding hospital-owned properties.
NorthJersey.com first reported the details of the lawsuit Friday morning.
Teaneck officials approved a proposal in December to expand the Holy Name facility over the next two decades, a multiphase plan that includes two nine-story buildings next to the existing hospital, an eight-story medical office building on the corner of Cedar Lane and Teaneck Road, a five-story medical office building on Teaneck Road, a five-story medical office building on Cedar Lane and a day care and parking lot behind the hospital.
The lawsuit claims the approvals were “arbitrarily, capriciously, improperly, and illegitimately adopted, in violation of law.” It also claims conflicts of interest — namely financial motivations — of elected officials should render their votes invalid, citing that several Teaneck council members are long-time volunteers with the township ambulance corps, which takes in $70,000 a year from Holy Name for equipment and supplies, according to the suit.
Michael Maron, president and CEO of Holy Name, defended the expansion plans in a statement to NorthJersey.com.
“We were disheartened to learn that some neighbors have chosen to file a lawsuit against the township instead of working earnestly with local officials and the hospital to come to a resolution,” Maron said in the statement. “We believe the plan set forth and approved by elected officials will keep world-class health care in Teaneck, benefit the community at large, and enhance the residential character of the nearby neighborhood.”
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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com.
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