# Commissioner of Health of the City of New York

The commissioner of health of the City of New York is the head of the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The commissioner is appointed by the Mayor of New York City, and also serves on the city's Board of Health with the chairperson of the Department's Mental Hygiene Advisory Board and nine other members appointed by the mayor.

## History

The Metropolitan Board of Health, which was the predecessor agency to the Department of Health and consisted of sanitary and vital statistics bureaus, had its first meeting on March 5, 1866. The modern Department of Health, under a single commissioner, was formed by the New York City Charter revision pursuant to Chapter 137 of the Laws of 1870 passed by the New York State legislature. In the early years after its formation, commissioners were sometimes political appointments, with no experience in medicine or related fields. In 2002, the Department of Health was merged with the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services to form the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

## Qualifications

City regulations currently require that the commissioner of health must be a doctor of medicine, and have either
* an M.P.H. degree, an M.B.A. or M.P.A. degree with concentration in the health field, or an equivalent degree and at least five years' teaching experience college or university public health, or
* at least five years' experience in public health administration.

## Duties

According to the New York City Charter, the commissioner is broadly responsible for preparing plans for construction and operation of medical and health care facilities and establishing their priorities, has the power to compel the testimony of witnesses and produce reports and documents in matters regarding health, and assess penalties up to $1,000 for violations or failures to comply with health notices or regulations. These duties involve regulating and overseeing matters ranging from reportable contagious diseases, to registration of birth and deaths, restaurant inspections, selling food from carts, selling tobacco products to minors and monitoring of smoking in public areas, regulation of wild animals, and sending health alerts to the public and doctors.

## List of commissioners of health of the City of New York

List of commissioners of health of the City of New York :
| | Name | Dates in office | Mayoral administration |
| 1 | Joseph Bosworth | April 27, 1870 – May 8, 1873 | Abraham Oakey Hall |
| 2 | Charles F. Chandler, Ph.D. | May 8, 1873 – June 12, 1883 | William F. Havemeyer, Samuel B. H. Vance, William H. Wickham, Smith Ely, Jr., Edward Cooper, William Russell Grace, Franklin Edson |
| 3 | Alexander Shaler | June 13, 1883 – March 7, 1887 | Franklin Edson, William Russell Grace, Abram S. Hewitt |
| | vacant | March 7, 1887 – March 14, 1887 | Abram S. Hewitt |
| 4 | James C. Bayles | March 14, 1887 – May 1889 | Abram S. Hewitt, Hugh J. Grant |
| 5 | Charles G. Wilson | May 1889 – January 1, 1898 | Hugh J. Grant, Thomas F. Gilroy, William L. Strong |
| 6 | Nathan Straus | January 1, 1898 – March 3, 1898 | Robert Van Wyck |
| 7 | Michael Cotter Murphy | March 3, 1898 – February 22, 1901 | Robert Van Wyck |
| 8 | John B. Sexton | February 22, 1901 – January 1, 1902 | Robert Van Wyck |
| 9 | Ernst J. Lederle, Ph.D. | January 1, 1902 – January 1, 1904 | Seth Low |
| 10 | Thomas Darlington, M.D. | January 1, 1904 – January 9, 1910 | George B. McClellan, Jr. |
| 11 | Ernst J. Lederle, Ph.D. | January 9, 1910 – January 19, 1914 | William J. Gaynor, Ardolph L. Kline |
| 12 | Sigismund Schulz Goldwater, M.D. | January 19, 1914 – November 1, 1915 | John P. Mitchel |
| 13 | Haven G. Emerson, M.D. | November 1, 1915 – January 15, 1918 | John P. Mitchel |
| 14 | J. Lewis Amster, M.D. | January 15, 1918 – April 29, 1918 | John F. Hylan |
| 15 | Royal S. Copeland, M.D. | April 29, 1918 – March 7, 1923 | John F. Hylan |
| 16 | Frank J. Monaghan, M.D. | March 7, 1923 – January 1, 1926 | John F. Hylan |
| 17 | Louis I. Harris, M.D. | January 1, 1926 – August 1, 1928 | Jimmy Walker |
| 18 | Shirley W. Wynne, M.D. | August 1, 1928 – August 17, 1928 (acting) August 17, 1928 – January 1, 1934 | Jimmy Walker, Joseph V. McKee, John P. O'Brien |
| 19 | John L. Rice, M.D. | January 1, 1934 – July 16, 1942 | Fiorello H. La Guardia |
| 20 | Ernest Lyman Stebbins, M.D. | July 16, 1942 – March 4, 1946 | Fiorello H. La Guardia, William O'Dwyer |
| 21 | Edward M. Bernecker, M.D. | March 4, 1946 – March 13, 1946 | William O'Dwyer |
| 22 | Israel Weinstein, M.D. | March 13, 1946 – November 3, 1947 | William O'Dwyer |
| 23 | Harry Stoll Mustard, M.D. | November 3, 1947 – January 1, 1950 | William O'Dwyer |
| 24 | John Friend Mahoney, M.D. | January 1, 1950 – January 1, 1954 | William O'Dwyer, Vincent R. Impellitteri |
| 25 | Leona Baumgartner, M.D. | January 1, 1954 – October 2, 1962 | Robert F. Wagner, Jr. |
| 26 | George James, M.D., M.P.H. | October 2, 1962 – October 30, 1962 (acting) October 30, 1962 – October 1965 | Robert F. Wagner, Jr. |
| — | John R. Philp, M.D. | October 1965 – January 14, 1966 (acting) | Robert F. Wagner, Jr., John V. Lindsay |
| — | Arthur Bushel, D.D.S., M.P.H. | January 14, 1966 – June 1, 1966 (acting) | John V. Lindsay |
| 27 | Howard Junior Brown, M.D. | June 1, 1966 – December 15, 1966 | John V. Lindsay |
| 28 | Edward O'Rourke, M.D. | December 15, 1966 – May 28, 1969 | John V. Lindsay |
| 29 | Mary C. McLaughlin, M.D., M.P.H. | May 28, 1969 – January 17, 1972 | John V. Lindsay |
| 30 | Joseph Anthony Cimino, M.D., M.P.H. | January 17, 1972 – January 7, 1974 | John V. Lindsay |
| 31 | Lowell E. Bellin, M.D., M.P.H. | January 7, 1974 – January 3, 1977 | Abraham D. Beame |
| 32 | Pascal James Imperato, M.D., M.P.H., T.M. | January 3, 1977 – March 31, 1978 | Abraham D. Beame |
| 33 | Reinaldo Antonio Ferrer, M.D., M.P.H. | March 31, 1978 – November 28, 1981 | Edward I. Koch |
| 34 | David Judson Sencer, M.D., M.P.H. | November 28, 1981 – March 11, 1986 | Edward I. Koch |
| 35 | Stephen C. Joseph, M.D., M.P.H. | March 11, 1986 – March 30, 1990 | Edward I. Koch |
| 36 | Woody Myers, Jr., M.D., M.B.A. | March 30, 1990 – June 11, 1991 | David N. Dinkins |
| 37 | Margaret Hamburg, M.D. | June 11, 1991 – December 24, 1991 (acting) December 24, 1991 – April 15, 1997 | David Dinkins, Rudolph W. Giuliani |
| — | Benjamin Mojica, M.D. | April 15, 1997 – January 14, 1998 (acting) | Rudolph W. Giuliani |
| 38 | Neal L. Cohen, M.D. | January 14, 1998 – end of January, 2002 | Rudolph W. Giuliani |
| 39 | Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. | end of January, 2002 – May 15, 2009 | Michael R. Bloomberg |
| 40 | Thomas A. Farley, M.D., M.P.H. | May 18, 2009 – January 16, 2014 | Michael R. Bloomberg |
| 41 | Mary Travis Bassett, M.D., M.P.H. | January 16, 2014 – August 31, 2018 | Bill de Blasio |
| 42 | Oxiris Barbot, M.D. | September 1, 2018 – December 19, 2018 (acting) December 19, 2018 – August 4, 2020 | Bill de Blasio |
| 43 | Dave A. Chokshi, M.D. | August 4, 2020 – March 15, 2022 | Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams |
| 44 | Ashwin Vasan, M.D. | March 15, 2022 – October 18, 2024 | Eric Adams |
| — | Michelle E. Morse, M.D., M.P.H. | October 18, 2024 – current (interim) | Eric Adams |