New York City's pursuit of public health took a stride forward last week when lawmakers codified the health commissioner’s ambitious goal to increase the overall life expectancy in the five boroughs to 83 years by 2030.

As of 2021, the city's Department of Health reported an overall life expectancy of 80.7 years, surpassing the national average by four years, yet leaving room for improvement, Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.

"We've lost so much in the COVID era, but the overall story is one of better health for New Yorkers," Vasan said during an appearance on “Mornings On 1” Thursday. "In the last 100 years, we've gained about 40 years of life expectancy. Which means 40 years ago, a New Yorker could expect to live only till about 40 years old before they died. And because of public health vaccinations, antibiotics, surgery—but also clean water, better food—we live healthier, longer lives, and that's become an expectation."

Despite these gains, Vasan acknowledged challenges remain, notably a mental health crisis contributing to a rise in overdose deaths in recent years.

"When we looked across all of these causes of death, we see mostly things are moving in the wrong direction," Vasan said. "And so we said, ‘We're not going to get back not only to pre-COVID levels, but we're not going to get even longer lifespans without intentional action.’ So this is our GPS coordinates. This is the North Star for health in our city. And everything we launch in the future is going to be asked, ‘How is this saving lives? How is this aligning with this agenda? And how are we collectively working towards this common goal of better health and longer lives for all?’"

Vasan also noted the critical role that equity will play in achieving the city's health objectives.

"All you have to do is look at the data and you see this incredible, really sad disparity," Vasan said. "Black New Yorkers lost five and a half years of life expectancy in 2020. And they already have the lowest baseline. Latino New Yorkers lost six years. And so, we've got to say the only path to healthier longer lives in the city starts with equity. And that means in New York City, where we can see vast disparities block to block, ZIP code to ZIP… We need to work in the neighborhoods where we see the biggest gaps."