Meet NYC’s New Health Commissioner

The city’s new health commissioner was abruptly appointed Tuesday, shortly after his predecessor quit following months of tension with Mayor Bill de Blasio. But speaking in an interview with Errol Louis on Inside City Hall, Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi says he is focused on keeping New Yorkers safe and healthy during the next stage of the current health crisis.

“My number one priority on day one, day two, day three and beyond is going to be the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “Although we’ve made strides over the last few months we have to remain vigilant with respect to our response and ensure that that we navigate the road ahead to keep as many New Yorkers a safe and healthy as possible.”

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Chokshi was announced as New York City’s new health commissioner shortly after the resignation of the city’s now former health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. That sudden resignation Tuesday followed months of bubbling tensions with the mayor over the city’s handling of the pandemic.

Chokshi, a primary care physician at Bellevue Hospital and associate professor at the NYU School of Medicine, has served in leadership roles at NYC Health + Hospitals over the past six years, the department which has taken the lead of administering the city’s new testing and contact tracing program. That choice, over the health department, was a major point of contention between the mayor and Dr. Barbot.

Chokshi said all branches of city government will have to work collectively to effectively manage the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve seen how the coronavirus respects no boundaries. It doesn’t respect geographic boundaries, it’s affected people who are older and younger of all different backgrounds and in the same way our response has to ensure that it transcends boundaries as well,” Chokshi said.

“All parts of our city government will have to work together, as they have been, and even more so with a collaborative spirit going forward. So that includes not just the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Health + Hospitals, but all city agencies,” he continued.

President Barack Obama appointed Chokshi to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health back in 2016. He has also served as a White House Fellow and the principal health advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Chokshi, a Jackson Heights resident, lives near Elmhurst Hospital with his wife, an educator in New York City Public Schools, and daughter. He will continue to practice at Bellevue Hospital.

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Watch the full interview above.

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