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The Commissioner

Board of Health

Contact the Health Department

HealthyNYC

HealthyNYC: Become a Partner

Services in Your Language

ADA — Notice of Rights

Website Accessibility Statement

Five-Year Accessibility Plan 2024-2028

Media Campaigns

Public Meetings Archive

Health Code and Rules

Institutional Review Board

Interagency MOUs

Fund for Public Health


New York City Board of Health

Upcoming Meeting

The next Board of Health meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10, 10 a.m., at
Gotham Center, 42-09 28th Street, Room 8-25, Long Island City.

Members of the public can attend in-person or virtually via the NYC Health YouTube channel.

Documents from meetings will be posted on the NYC Health Notices and Recent Orders page.

NYC Board of Health Members

Michelle Morse, MD, MPH

Acting Health Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Rosa M. Gil, DSW

President Emeritus of Communilife, Inc.

Sidney Hankerson, MD, MBA

Co-Director, Columbia University Wellness Center

Mitchell Katz, MD

President of NYC Health + Hospitals

Simona C. Kwon, DrPH, MPH

Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Gail B. Nayowith, MSW

Principal of 1digit LLC

Angelo Acquista, MD

Physician in private practice

Maida Galvez, MD, MPH

Pediatrician at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Michael A. Lindsey, PhD, MSW, MPH

Dean and Paulette Goddard Professor of Social Work at NYU Silver School of Social Work

NYC Board of Health History: From Typhus to Trans Fat

Yellow Fever was plaguing New York City when the Board of Health held its first meeting in 1805. Led by Mayor De Witt Clinton, the board evacuated stricken neighborhoods and started collecting mortality statistics, to "furnish data for reflection and calculation." Yellow Jack swept the city for the last time in 1822, but cholera, typhus and tuberculosis persisted, fueled by crowding and a lack of sanitation.

Everything changed in 1866, when the New York State Legislature expanded the Board and insulated it from political influence by setting aside seats for physicians and scientists. Newly empowered, the Board decreed that "neither hogs nor goats [could] run at large in our city" and pressured landlords to maintain their buildings. Cholera deaths promptly fell by 90 percent.

The 11-member Board of Health remains a vital force today. Most members - appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the City Council - serve six-year terms. Each Board member is a recognized expert, and the group represents a broad range of health and medical disciplines. They serve without pay and, like judges, cannot be dismissed without cause. As the overseer of New York City's Health Code, the Board has enacted countless measures to improve the wellbeing of New Yorkers over the years - including a ban on interior lead paint, modern tuberculosis control provisions and, more recently, a plan for eliminating trans fat from restaurants.

More Information

Notices and Recent Orders

Public Meetings Archive