Saving Gotham: A Billionaire Mayor, Activist Doctors, and the Fight for Eight Million Lives

Farley, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2009 to 2014, revisits the controversial public health initiatives introduced during his tenure and that of his predecessor, Tom Frieden (in office from 2002 to 2009), under then-mayor Michael Bloomberg. Their mission was “to save lives millions at a time,” but it was the method that was revolutionary: shifting focus from preventing communicable diseases to noncommunicable ones, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disease. To wage this monumental battle, Bloomberg and his health department took on the tobacco and food industries by levying a cigarette tax, banning trans fats from restaurants and requiring calorie labels on menus, carving out smoke-free public areas, and helping cut salt in foods. There were losses, too—most famously Bloomberg’s soda tax—as well as a skeptical media that chided the administration as an intrusive nanny state. Nevertheless, between 2001 and 2010, life expectancy in New York City increased by three years, compared with 1.8 years nationwide; and the number of New Yorkers who died of heart disease caused by smoking, diet, and physical inactivity in 2012 was down by more than 8,000 compared to 2000. Farley acknowledges that these kinds of public initiatives may cause some individual discomfort, but contends that there’s little doubt that they save lives. [em](Oct.) [/em]