The new owners of Heights University Hospital, formerly known as Christ, have filed paperwork with the state to close.

The operator Hudson Regional Health says it will commit to keeping the emergency department open, but that the rest of the hospital will go offline as soon as the health department approves the closure.

HRH says they've sunk in 300 million, but it's just not enough to dig the hospital out of its financial hole.

The hospital serves a largely uninsured and low-income population.

In response, the state health department says Heights Hospital has failed to fund their payroll despite the state advancing millions of dollars in charity care payments.

At a press conference Friday morning, the CEO of Hudson Regional Health pleaded with Governor Murphy for support to keep emergency services running.

Healthcare Union, HPAE, and the city of New York have called the closure illegal, noting that employees haven't been paid in weeks.

The rest of the site's future is still up in the air.

The New Jersey Cities Council is already working on an ordinance to block a proposal to build residential units on that property.

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