Healing Gotham: New York City’s Public Health Policies for the Twenty-First Century

313 Pages·2015·7.619 MB·English

by  Bruce F. Berg

HEALING GOTHAM
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H E A L I N G
G O T H A M
New York City’s Public Health Policies
for the Twenty- First Century
Bruce F. Berg, PhD
Associate Professor, Po liti cal Science
Fordham University
Bronx, New York
Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2015 Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2015
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Mary land 21218- 4363
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Berg, Bruce F., author.
Healing Gotham : New York City’s public health policies for the
twenty- first century / Bruce F. Berg.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 1- 4214- 1599- 4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 1- 4214- 1599- 2 (pbk. : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978- 1- 4214- 1600- 7 (electronic) — ISBN 1- 4214- 1600- X (electronic)
I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Health Policy— New York City. 2. Urban Health—
New York City. WA 546 AN7]
RA566.4.I3
362.1'042097471—dc23 2014016736
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For Noah, Samara, Adam, and Ellis
and their health
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contents
Ac know ledg ments ix
one
Introduction 1
two
Lead Poisoning in Children 32
three
Managing Asthma 71
four
Living with HIV/AIDS 109
five
Helping a City Lose Weight 162
six
The First Appearance of West Nile Virus 203
seven
Conclusion 220
References 251
Index 285
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ac know ledg ments
I am greatly indebted to Fordham University and its Office of Research for
providing me with the necessary release time to conduct the research for the
manuscript and its initial writing.
Staffers at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
were particularly helpful in the early research for this project. New York City
Council public hearings and press conferences by Mayors Rudolph Giuliani
and Michael R. Bloomberg provided a wealth of information on public health
policy and the politics of public health in New York City.
My wife, Abbey, proofread major sections of the manuscript, asked appro-
priate questions, and provided encouragement throughout the project.
At Johns Hopkins University Press, I am grateful to Kelley Squazzo for her
decision to support the project.
Finally, I would like to thank the town of Lucca, Italy. This manuscript was
born in Lucca. The beautiful Tuscan town provided both the creative environ-
ment that allowed me to develop the topic as well as a wonderful distraction
whenever I needed a diversion.