Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

public health

public health

  • New York City Public Hospitals Were Unprepared for Major Crisis, Costing Lives During Covid Outbreak, Review Finds

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    Mayor de Blasio visits Elmhurst Hospital (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    New York City and State governments’ lack of support for the city’s public hospitals left them underprepared in almost every way for the COVID-19 pandemic, even when the disease seemed likely to come to the city and despite warnings dating back to 2006 about the very conditions that would lead to an overwhelmed hospital system that became a real-life nightmare for New Yorkers, according to a preliminary report by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer

    And when COVID-19

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  • New York Got Federal Money to Address Extreme Heat; Now’s The Time To Use It

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    Summer heat has arrived (photo: governor's office)


    The sudden spread of COVID-19 caught governments around the world off-guard, setting off one of the deadliest public health crises in generations. We are learning many lessons from this pandemic, including the importance of preparing for emergencies early and taking decisive action when they strike, especially in New York State, the epicenter of the crisis, where there are over 380,000 confirmed cases and more than 24,000 deaths.

    With summer officially beginning on June 20, another

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  • Have Drug Overdoses Spiked During the Coronavirus Crisis? It Depends Who You Ask

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    Mayor de Blasio makes an announcement (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    As the coronavirus ravaged New York, hospitals were flooded with patients and city services ground to a halt. Activists and elected officials worried that in the fray of the pandemic, with New Yorkers ordered to mostly stay inside and millions losing work, the already prevalent opioid epidemic in the state could be further exacerbated. But city and state health officials don’t have full grasp on the scope of the problem, and may not know for months, because of a lag in how drug

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  • Pride and Ending the HIV Epidemic in New York This Year

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    June is Pride month (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Octavia Leona Kohner is a former sex worker and a survivor of sexual assault. As a woman of transgender experience, she’s 49 times more likely than the general population to be HIV positive. But Octavia is HIV negative. She’s an example of the tremendous progress we’ve made in our effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York State -- an epidemic that has disproportionately impacted the LGBTQ community and communities of color.

    Six years ago, New York set out to end HIV by 2020, and thanks to

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  • Ensuring the COVID-19 Response Prioritizes the Needs of Vulnerable New Yorkers

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    Front-line workers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the fragility of our region. It has compromised our physical and mental health, caused unprecedented disruption to our economy, and created a deep uncertainty about our future.

    Across the state, the pandemic has revealed how inequitably our communities are prepared to cope with an emergency of this magnitude. The Department of Health in New York City released ...

  • Peaker Plants Harm Communities of Color; It’s Time for New York City to Replace Them

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    A peaker plant


    As the weather warms and we head into the summer, we again expect record-breaking temperatures. Thousands of New Yorkers worry about accessing air conditioning units and surviving a hot summer in cramped apartments, and many will struggle to balance higher electricity bills from air conditioning against costs of health care, food, and rent. But most people don’t worry about the increased electricity demand from widespread air conditioning use during hot days and heat waves.

    Most New Yorkers are unlikely to know about the polluting power plants

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  • Adams, Kallos Introduce Bill to Mandate Nutrition Standards for Food Provided by the City

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    Food being prepared during the coronavirus crisis (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos of Manhattan, both Democrats, announced new legislation last week that would mandate nutrition standards for the “grab & go” and home delivered meals provided by the city, which have become essential sources of food for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers during the coronavirus crisis.

    As unemployment in the city has skyrocketed from 4% to past 14%, children are not attending schools

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  • Addressing New York City’s Public Hygiene Crisis is a Coronavirus Recovery Must

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    Pizza Rat (Youtube); Dilapidated NYC Parks Bathroom, NYC Comptroller’s Office


    The tens of millions annual tourists who supercharged New York City’s economic growth during the past few decades looked past the low public hygiene standards in their pursuit of skyline views and Broadway shows. Public restrooms? Very few and mostly awful. Overcrowded sidewalks? We got ‘em! Millions of long-suffering visitors and residents have had to tolerate oozing garbage bags on city sidewalks, grimy subway stations, crowded playgrounds, gross bathrooms in city parks, and more. When a pizza-eating rat in

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  • Mayor's Recipe to Combat Hunger Missing Key Ingredient: Healthfulness

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    Mayor de Blasio holding a food package (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York City officials’ recently-released plan for how the city will keep New Yorkers fed during the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis does exactly that: tells us how New Yorkers will be fed. But where it missed the mark altogether is that it lacks any direction as to how it will keep New Yorkers well-fed.

    The lack of consistent access to healthy food, which has been a looming

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  • A 'Human Rights Tragedy' Unfolding - Part II: The ER was Their Only Source of Care Before the Pandemic Hit

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    Emergency rooms are overflowing amid the coronavirus outbreak (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    [This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one: A 'Human Rights Tragedy' Unfolding - Part I: Racial Bias and Life-Saving Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic]

    Dr. Yomaris Peña begins each day at 4:30 a.m. as a primary care provider in

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  • Privilege Trumps Priority in Black and Brown Communities, Again

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    Council Member Donovan Richards, the author (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)


    The lack of coronavirus testing sites in poor communities and particularly communities of color is costing black and brown New Yorkers their lives. There is no clearer example of institutional racism than the different infection and mortality rates during this crisis. It is a scar on our nation and our city. In areas of New York City that already experience the highest rates of asthma, diabetes, and other underlying conditions, this virus has already proven to be a death

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: The City's Developing Public Health Response to Coronavirus

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    Council Member Levine gets a flu shot (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)


    March 25, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: The City's Developing Public Health Response to Coronavirus

    mark levinewbai150City Council Member Mark Levine, chair of the Council's health committee, joined the show to discuss the city's developing response to the coronavirus outbreak.

    Listen to the

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  • New for New York City: What Solidarity Looks Like Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

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    social distancing amid coronavirus is key (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    New Yorkers have a particular way of showing solidarity. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, resuming normal life was an act of bravery. We would not be derailed. We would carry on. As tragedies have struck other cities and countries, the language of solidarity, arguably the language of coping, has stayed the same. In essence, we come together, try to restore a sense of normalcy, and move forward.

    The rapid spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, has rattled the

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  • Take It from Someone Who Connects People Socially: Now’s The Time for Social Distancing

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    It's time for social distancing in New York (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Much of my life’s work has been about building in-person social connections. Now, I'm wrestling with how to understand and participate in "social distancing" as a way to confront the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.

    I help run a network of hundreds of political social events around the country that has created friendships and solidarity through face-to-face gatherings. I'm also chair of the board of The Tank, a Manhattan theater that runs 20

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  • New York Must Halt Evictions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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    People need secure housing for themselves & others (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    No one is immune to the novel coronavirus: The World Health Organization recently declared the outbreak a pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, and the congressional doctor reportedly expects up to 150 million citizens to be infected.

    Do you know who is most vulnerable to COVID-19? Health professionals have identified people who are elderly and sick as particularly at risk, but we must not forget those who are poor or

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Coronavirus in New York - Assessing the Threat & Response

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    Health officials must manage the coronavirus in New York (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)


    March 4, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Coronavirus in New York - Threat, Preparation, & Response

    levin gershonDr. Robyn Gershon of NYU School of Global Public Health and City Council Member Mark Levine, chair of the Council's health committee, joined the show to discuss the new coronavirus

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  • Letter to the Editor: Toy Companies in New York and Across America Put Child Safety First

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    (photo: @TheToyAssociation)


    To the Editor,

    As the not-for-profit association representing businesses that create and deliver toys to kids, The Toy Association counts 126 companies in New York State among its membership of more than 1,100 toymakers and retailers. Every single one of these companies prioritizes keeping children safe at play, above all else.

    I’d like to set the record straight regarding the mistruths and inaccuracies in Christine Appah’s opinion piece, “...

  • In Opioid Fight, City Expands Access to Crucial Medication-Assisted Treatment

    New York City opioid treatment

    (photo: Edwin Torres/Mayor's Office)


    New York City is showing modest progress in the fight to curb the explosion in drug overdoses, with the health department reporting 38 fewer deaths last year compared to 2017, after a concerted $60-million effort focused on substance abuse prevention, treatment, and education, especially with regard to opioids.

    One aspect of that fight has been the expansion of access to medication-assisted treatment, which experts and activists

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  • Eric Adams Plans to Put Public Health on the Menu in the Next Race for Mayor

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    Eric Adams with healthy food people (photo: @BPEricAdams)


    Eric Adams, Brooklyn’s borough president since 2014, can always count on one place for good reviews: vegan magazines and websites.

    Forks Over Knives, an organization dedicated to plant-based diets, collaborated with Adams for a 2018 mini-documentary about his lifestyle. ...

  • NAACP, Anti-Smoking Groups Press City Council Speaker on Bills Banning Flavored Cigarettes

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    Council Members Levine, center, & Cabrera, behind him (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    The New York chapter of the NAACP and four of the nation’s largest anti-smoking groups are urging City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to support two bills that would effectively ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in New York City. The groups recently sent a letter urging Speaker Johnson to bring the two proposals up for a vote in the City Council.

    The first bill, ...

  • High Rates of Head Trauma in New York City Jails Raise Public Health, Recidivism Concerns

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    (photo via The Mayor's Office)


    When a head injury occurs in any of New York City’s 12 jails, no one bats an eye, according to Jonathan Stenger. “It’s accepted,” said Stenger, who was formerly incarcerated on Rikers Island and now works with inmates in the city’s jails through the Osborne Association. “People are just used to it.”

    Quantifying these incidents for the first time, ...