Member
New York City

The New York City Department of Mental Health of Hygiene protects the health and well-being of over 8 million New Yorkers.
With an annual budget of $1.6 billion and more than 6,000 employees throughout the five boroughs, they’re one of the largest public health agencies in the world. They are also one of the nation’s oldest public health agencies, with more than 200 years of leadership in the field.
Their work is broad-ranging, ranging from COVID-19 response and inspection grades of dining establishments- to no-cost health clinics in neighborhoods and the birth certificates for the youngest New Yorkers.
Snapshot
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POPULATION
8,443,700
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SQUARE MILES
302.6
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TRANSIT SCORE
84
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PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD INCOME
$37,693.00

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Urban Health Agenda
Our vision for the future of urban health looks beyond health care. Government and community organizations work together to make our wider environments safer, healthier, and more equitable.
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Health Equity Tool
Together with Human Impact Partners, we created an Equity Lens Tool for health officials and their staffs to use in the context of COVID-related decision making.
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The greater the investment in public health programs and education, the better our collective health outcomes, and the less devastating any future pandemic or comparable crisis will be.
Dave Chokshi, MD, Commissioner

Frontline Blog
Protecting the Health and Safety of New York City: A Conversation with Dr. Dave Chokshi
Dr. Dave A. Chokshi joined the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as commissioner in August 2020. Even under normal circumstances, protecting the health and safety of millions of New Yorkers is no easy task. The coronavirus pandemic has presented even greater challenges. The Big Cities Health Coalition team spoke with Dr. Chokshi about his background in public health, his first month on the job, biggest challenges, and his goals for his tenure.