Coronavirus: Millionaire who tried to charge Philadelphia almost $1m to use empty hospital has property vandalised

‘Joel Freedman has blood on his hands’

People in Philadelphia angered by a man who wanted to charge the city nearly $1 million a month to use an empty hospital he owns for housing and treating coronavirus patients have vandalised his house.

Joel Freedman, a California businessman who owns the currently closed Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, told city officials they could rent the building from him for $1 million a month to house coronavirus patients.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that “Joel Kills” and “Free Hahnemann” were spray painted onto a building owned by Mr Freedman in Philadelphia.

A paper taped to the door stated “Joel Freedman has blood on his hands” and “Open Hahnemann Hospital.”

A spokesperson for Mr Freedman said the vandalism was “sad and uncalled for.”

“Vandalism or hate is never acceptable, nor will it solve any problems, rather it is a time to come together and work collectively for the best of the community,” Sam Singer, Mr Freedman’s spokesman, said. “That is what Mr Freedman attempted to do, and the city determined the site was not suitable for its needs.”

Mr Singer argued that charging the hospital the “hugely, deeply discounted rate” of $910,000 a month was Mr Freedman’s way of working “collectively for the best of the community.”

Luckily for Mr Freedman, while the city deals with the coronavirus pandemic, he stands to benefit from the coronavirus stimulus passed by Congress. The bill temporarily and retroactively lifts a cap on the property-related depreciation that real estate investors can use to lower their taxes, according to reporting from The Intercept.

Philadelphia’s mayor, Jim Kenney, said the price was too high and accused Mr Freedman of “trying to make a buck” off the pandemic. The mayor said he is no longer interested in negotiating with Mr Freedman.

“We had to go back and forth … with a multi-millionaire owner who wanted to maximize his profits. So we decided, rather than continue to go back and forth with him, we moved on,” Mr Kenney told NPR.

Mr Freedman’s decision not to let the city use his facility stirred up resentment around the country, earning him the ire of the nation’s most prominent critic of wealth hoarding, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

“We are facing estimates of over 100,000 coronavirus deaths. It is outrageous that a Philadelphia real estate investor who closed a hospital now trying to gouge the city to reopen it,” Mr Sanders said in a Tweet.

Mr Freedman bought the hospital in 2018 for $170 million and shuttered it despite protest from the surrounding community. Hahnemann hospital provided medical access to lower-income neighbourhoods in the city and its closure put thousands of people out of work