SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Hahnemann Hospital sits abandoned while Philadelphia's medical community struggles to find the beds needed as the coronavirus outbreak spreads in the city. (Photo: Cory Clark/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
'Seize It': Progressives Urge Philadelphia City Govt. to Take Hahnemann Hospital After Owner Demands $1 Million a Month in Rent
"The city should reopen Hahnemann hospital immediately," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Mar 30, 2020
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday joined a rising chorus of progressives demanding the city of Philadelphia seize the shuttered 500-bed Hahnemann hospital from its owner, investment banker Joel Freedman, and reopen the facility to handle the coming peak infections of the coronavirus in the city.
"The city should reopen Hahnemann hospital immediately," Sanders said in a tweet Monday at midday.
Sanders, who supported efforts to stop the hospital's closure in July 2019, including rallying with the facility's supporters, was one of a growing number of advocates calling for the city to take matters into its own hands after Freedman refused to lease the building to the city for less than $1 million a month.
"Seize it," tweeted progressive radio host Benjamin Dixon.
On Sunday, Freedman's mansion in Philadelphia had "Joel Kills" and "Free Hahnemann" spray painted on its side.
Philadelphians were not sympathetic.
The push for using eminent domain to take the hospital and put it back online despite Freedman's demands gained a fan in normally-skepitcal-of-such-actions Esquire journalist Charlie Pierce.
"I am generally not a fan of eminent domain," Pierce wrote Monday, "but if there is a clearer case for it than this one, especially at this moment in time, I don't know what it would be."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday joined a rising chorus of progressives demanding the city of Philadelphia seize the shuttered 500-bed Hahnemann hospital from its owner, investment banker Joel Freedman, and reopen the facility to handle the coming peak infections of the coronavirus in the city.
"The city should reopen Hahnemann hospital immediately," Sanders said in a tweet Monday at midday.
Sanders, who supported efforts to stop the hospital's closure in July 2019, including rallying with the facility's supporters, was one of a growing number of advocates calling for the city to take matters into its own hands after Freedman refused to lease the building to the city for less than $1 million a month.
"Seize it," tweeted progressive radio host Benjamin Dixon.
On Sunday, Freedman's mansion in Philadelphia had "Joel Kills" and "Free Hahnemann" spray painted on its side.
Philadelphians were not sympathetic.
The push for using eminent domain to take the hospital and put it back online despite Freedman's demands gained a fan in normally-skepitcal-of-such-actions Esquire journalist Charlie Pierce.
"I am generally not a fan of eminent domain," Pierce wrote Monday, "but if there is a clearer case for it than this one, especially at this moment in time, I don't know what it would be."
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday joined a rising chorus of progressives demanding the city of Philadelphia seize the shuttered 500-bed Hahnemann hospital from its owner, investment banker Joel Freedman, and reopen the facility to handle the coming peak infections of the coronavirus in the city.
"The city should reopen Hahnemann hospital immediately," Sanders said in a tweet Monday at midday.
Sanders, who supported efforts to stop the hospital's closure in July 2019, including rallying with the facility's supporters, was one of a growing number of advocates calling for the city to take matters into its own hands after Freedman refused to lease the building to the city for less than $1 million a month.
"Seize it," tweeted progressive radio host Benjamin Dixon.
On Sunday, Freedman's mansion in Philadelphia had "Joel Kills" and "Free Hahnemann" spray painted on its side.
Philadelphians were not sympathetic.
The push for using eminent domain to take the hospital and put it back online despite Freedman's demands gained a fan in normally-skepitcal-of-such-actions Esquire journalist Charlie Pierce.
"I am generally not a fan of eminent domain," Pierce wrote Monday, "but if there is a clearer case for it than this one, especially at this moment in time, I don't know what it would be."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.