Friday, June 5, 2026, 12 p.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use
This joint executive budget hearing covered three sessions: the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's public health budget, its mental hygiene budget, and NYC Health + Hospitals' budget for fiscal year 2027. Council members questioned agency leaders on savings measures, vacancy reductions, federal funding risks from HR 1, supportive housing vacancies, childhood asthma investments, sexual health clinic operations, opioid settlement spending, mobile treatment team capacity, B-HEARD staffing, the Interfaith Hospital merger, and the Far Rockaway trauma center. The committee discussed but did not vote on any items, as this was an oversight hearing. The Council's preliminary budget requests for additional mental health funding were not included in the executive plan.
0:22 Is choose. Yes. Yeah.
0:22 Good morning. Good morning.
0:33 On finance joint with the
0:37 committee on health committee
0:38 on mental health and substance
0:39 use and the committee on
0:40 hospitals at this time, please
0:41 . Sounds electronics and do
0:44 not approach the days again
0:45 ,please do not approach the
0:46 dais. If you need assistance.
0:48 Please contact the sergeant at
0:49 arms. Thank you for your
0:50 cooperation chairs you begin.
0:56 Awesome. All right, remember
0:56 to do that. Good morning,
0:58 everyone and welcome to the
1:00 eighth day of the 27 executive
1:03 budget hearings, I'm council
1:05 member and and today will be
1:06 with the department of health
1:08 and mental hygiene, public
1:09 health section, followed by
1:12 department of I'm health and
1:13 mental hygiene for mental
1:13 hygiene and I'm pleased to be
1:15 joined by our speaker, speaker
1:16 mennen and my colleague, chair
1:18 of the committee on health
1:20 Council Member Lynn Schulman,
1:21 we have been joined today by
1:25 council members narcissist,
1:26 areola and Felder, who are
1:26 both on zoom, a Council Member
1:30 of marta council juan council
1:31 member will Council Member
1:34 gabon and a welcome to our
1:37 commissioner, dr alistair
1:41 martin? Um, yes. Oh, and
1:43 Carmen De sorry.
1:44 A m. So welcome,
1:46 commissioner to you and your
1:48 team for being with us this
1:49 morning and thank you all for
1:51 answering our questions today
1:54 ,so on May 12 2026, the
1:56 administration release the
1:56 executive financial plan for f
1:58 y 27 2 30 with a proposed
2:00 fiscal 27 budget of the
2:05 department of health and
2:05 mental hygiene is public
2:07 health proposed 27 budget of
2:10 represents 2.1% of the
2:13 administration's proposed
2:14 seven budget in the executive
2:15 plan and this is an increase
2:17 of or 3.9% from the originally
2:22 budgeted in the preliminary
2:25 plan. This increased results
2:26 from several actions mostly
2:28 tied to an additional 17.6
2:30 million for disease outbreak
2:31 resilience 12 million for the
2:33 mobile food vending expansion
2:36 7.2 million for 2 work t
2:37 omanagement and 4 million for
2:38 sexual health clinics as of
2:42 April 2026 u each meat, public
2:43 health section had count was
2:45 202 less than their fiscal 2
2:48 026 budget her account in the
2:51 27 preliminary budget hearing
2:52 we raised concerns regarding
2:53 disease prevention and
2:56 treatment chronic disease
2:57 prevention, health, equity and
2:58 immunization programs. We wer
2:59 epleased to see that many of
3:01 these priorities were
3:02 reflected in the executive
3:03 plan at the same time this
3:05 budget hearing comes at a
3:06 period of significant
3:07 uncertainty for public health
3:08 agencies across the country
3:11 federal funding that supported
3:13 critical disease surveillance
3:15 laboratory capacity and
3:16 emergency preparedness efforts
3:17 is beginning to expire while
3:19 public health departments are
3:21 simultaneously being asked to
3:22 respond to emerging infectious
3:25 diseases rising chronic
3:26 disease burdens and increasing
3:27 health care access challenges,
3:29 that is why I'm encouraged t
3:31 osee investments in disease
3:33 outbreak, resilience
3:34 ,prevention and childhood
3:36 asthma
3:36 . Initiatives in health care
3:38 access programs. However it I
3:38 salso important that these
3:39 investments are supported by a
3:41 workforce that can
3:42 successfully implement them.
3:45 With the agency's still
3:45 operating the low budget head
3:46 count and at the same time
3:48 eliminating long term vacant
3:50 positions. We must ensure that
3:51 staffing capacity keeps pace
3:52 with the growing
3:53 responsibilities being
3:54 assigned to the department. I
3:55 look forward to hearing from
3:56 the commissioner today about
3:58 how the department plans to
4:00 sustain critical public health
4:02 services address federal
4:04 funding, uncertainty advanced,
4:06 healthy goals and continues t
4:07 othe health of all New yorkers
4:08 in the years ahead and now I
4:12 want to turn it over to my co
4:12 chair for this hearing chair
4:14 shulman for her opening
4:17 statement.
4:18 Thank you. Good morning,
4:18 everyone. I am Council Member
4:19 Lynn Schulman in the New York
4:20 City Council's committee on
4:22 health. Thank you all for
4:23 joining us at the fiscal 20 2
4:25 7executive budget hearing for
4:26 the department of health and
4:29 mental hygiene. I want t
4:29 othank our finance, jail and
4:30 delete the co chairing this
4:31 hearing and I also want t
4:33 othank speaker Julie Menin
4:35 attending as well I would
4:36 . Also like to thank the
4:37 commissioner, dr alistair
4:38 martin, his staff and everyone
4:39 who is with us today. Dohr is
4:42 fiscal 20 27 executive budget
4:45 totals $2.64 billion, whic
4:48 hrepresents approximately 2.1
4:49 %of the city's budget funding
4:51 for public health services
4:52 totals annette net increase of
4:57 compared to last year adopted
4:59 budget of this amount 526
5:01 million is for persona
5:03 lservices and 1.1 billion for
5:05 other than personal services.
5:06 Today's hearing comes at a
5:07 critical moment for public
5:08 health in New York City, while
5:10 a City has made meaningful
5:12 progress in improving health
5:13 outcomes and strengthening
5:13 disease prevention efforts. We
5:16 continue to face serious
5:17 challenges that require
5:20 sustained investment.
5:20 Thoughtful planning and
5:21 strong public trust in our
5:24 health institutions. This
5:25 hearing will examine how the
5:25 department's fiscal 20 27
5:27 executive budget alliance with
5:28 the city's broader public
5:29 health goals, including the
5:31 health initiative to increase
5:33 life expectancy, which the
5:34 council codified into law
5:37 healthy, established
5:38 ,ambitious targets to address
5:38 the long standing in that
5:40 continue to show shape health
5:42 outcomes across our
5:43 communities these goals cannot
5:45 exist solely as aspirational
5:47 benchmarks. They must b
5:48 ereflected both in spirit and
5:49 in funding decisions
5:50 throughout this budget at the
5:53 same time the City is
5:53 preparing for the impacts of
5:55 significant federal health
5:57 care policy changes
5:58 approximately 233000 New York
6:00 City residents are expected t
6:02 olose health insurance coverage
6:03 due to upcoming essential plan
6:05 eligibility changes taking
6:06 effect on July 1, thes
6:09 emedicaid related disruptions
6:10 could increase the number of
6:11 uninsured New yorkers and
6:13 interrupt continuity of care.
6:14 We will discuss how the
6:16 department plans to respond to
6:17 the New health and
6:19 affordability core to support
6:21 vulnerable communities during
6:23 this transition, we will also
6:24 examine investments in
6:25 programs that directly address
6:27 food insecurity, environmental
6:29 health, infectious and chronic
6:31 disease prevention, sexual
6:32 health services, public health
6:34 emergencies and childhood
6:35 asthma apart from responding
6:37 to crises. Public health is
6:38 also about preventing illness
6:40 before it occurs and ensuring
6:41 that all New yorkers have
6:42 equitable access to the
6:43 resources they need to live
6:45 healthy lives. This hearing
6:47 will also focus on the city's
6:49 response to legionnaire's
6:51 disease following recent
6:51 outbreaks and the
6:52 implementation of strengthened
6:54 cooling tower regulations,
6:55 which I championed last year,
6:57 the 20 25 central hall in
6:59 legionnaire's disease cluster,
7:02 the devastating consequences
7:03 of delayed detection and
7:04 insufficient insufficient
7:07 prevention measures as warmer
7:08 temperatures increase the risk
7:09 of legionella growth it is
7:10 essential that the silly City
7:13 fully supports inspection
7:14 capacity outbreak response,
7:16 environmental monitoring and
7:17 community engagement efforts
7:18 to protect public health
7:21 . We will also discuss
7:22 investments in tuberculosis
7:23 prevention through stop the
7:25 city's ongoing in parks
7:26 response and the growing
7:28 importance of combating health
7:29 misinformation to effective
7:32 public health communications.
7:33 Additionally, we will examine
7:34 and pest mitigation efforts as
7:40 emerging public health threats
7:42 continue to evolve before we
7:43 would begin, I would like t
7:44 othank the finance staff,
7:46 malaria lazaro rodriguez,
7:48 florentine cab and anisha
7:49 right for their work on this
7:50 hearing and committee staff
7:54 Chris pepe, elizabeth thoughts
7:55 and joshua neuman for their
7:55 support. Finally, I would also
7:57 like to thank my staff,
7:59 jonathan boucher, Kevin mchal
8:00 e, leah and sammy knew with
8:01 that, I will now pass it t
8:05 ocharlie. Great. Thank you. S
8:06 obefore we get into a swearing
8:08 in. Just wanted to make some
8:12 quick announcements. So we're
8:13 having our public testimony
8:15 hearing all day. So instead of
8:16 doing it on multiple days,
8:17 bring it on one day on
8:21 Wednesday, June 10 next week
8:22 at 9 30 a. M. So if you're
8:24 here from the public and want
8:25 to sign up to testify. Please
8:28 do so it suldho be a long fun
8:29 day. So we will make sure to
8:32 get through all the testimony
8:33 in here from everyone, so
8:35 please again, June 10 9 30 a.
8:36 M. Please sign up. Okay
8:38 without further ado I want t
8:40 ointroduce our amazing
8:41 committee counsel brian scarfo
8:42 to swear in our witnesses
8:46 .good morning. Do you affirm t
8:47 otell the truth, the whole
8:47 truth and nothing but the
8:48 truth before this committee
8:49 and to respond honestly t
8:51 ocouncil member questions
8:53 commissioner dr alison martin.
8:55 Yes and deputy commissioner
8:57 anderson. Yes, you begin.
9:02 Fantastic. Thank you very much
9:02 , herr shulman. Thank you,
9:05 charlie. Thank you, sheri
9:05 fcarbon and thank. Thank you,
9:07 Madam speaker and to all of
9:08 the council members who joined
9:12 us today. My name is dr
9:13 alistair martin, commissioner
9:13 of health New York City health
9:15 department and I'm joined
9:16 today by our chief financial
9:18 officer aaron anderson,
9:19 members of my senior
9:23 leadership team. Thank you for
9:23 the opportunity to testify
9:24 today on our executive budge
9:25 tas relates to public health in
9:29 the midst of this year'
9:30 sbudget season. City Hall
9:31 released a study that found
9:34 62% of New yorkers cannot meet
9:35 their basic needs. That's 5
9:40 million people, most of whom
9:40 are missed by federal poverty
9:42 measures this budget sees the
9:43 mom donny administration is
9:44 putting forward a blueprint
9:46 for how to care for our City
9:48 and lift some of the financial
9:49 weight from New yorkers
9:53 shoulders. We can't talk about
9:54 affordability without talking
9:56 about health. We're facing
9:57 devastating cuts to public
9:57 health and health care at the
9:59 federal level and we're
10:00 bracing for the impacts of hr
10:04 one millions of New yorkers
10:04 who rely on medicaid will soon
10:06 become vulnerable to losing
10:07 their coverage that impacts
10:08 nearly half of our City. We
10:12 have both the responsibility
10:14 and an opportunity t
10:18 ointervene. Our mission for the
10:18 health department is centered
10:19 around three main priorities.
10:20 The first is to solidify the
10:22 foundation of our core public
10:23 and mental health work as we
10:27 face an increasingly hostile
10:28 federal environment. We are
10:29 dedicated to ensuring our core
10:32 local services are operating
10:35 efficiently. The second is to
10:36 make clear that public health
10:37 is an affordability issue key
10:41 components of this work
10:42 include enrolling New yorkers
10:42 in medicaid and keeping them
10:47 covered, especially the
10:47 hundreds of thousands of
10:48 residents at risk under New
10:50 federal work requirements
10:53 connecting families to cas
10:55 hassistance benefit programs
10:57 like snap wick and other
10:58 benefits they've already
10:59 earned, but haven't claimed
11:02 eliminating medical debt both
11:03 by erasing it wants its cruz
11:06 and preventing it once before
11:10 it accumulates and screening
11:11 for housing instability at
11:11 health visits and linking
11:13 patients to eviction
11:16 prevention services. The third
11:16 priority is to make public
11:17 health invisible shield
11:20 invisible because that
11:21 metaphor does us a disservice
11:23 if something is hidden, it's
11:24 easy to take for granted. We
11:28 cannot afford to be taken for
11:29 granted, especially not right
11:33 now we were building a
11:34 healthier, more affordable New
11:34 York City every single day in
11:38 the past three months alone.
11:39 We've made extraordinary
11:40 commitments to deliver for New
11:42 yorkers that includes a $20
11:44 million investment and perry
11:46 natal and early childhood
11:47 mental health services as well
11:49 as expansion of our Nurse
11:51 family partnership program,
11:51 aprogram in which my own mother
11:53 was a Nurse as a Nurse family
11:57 partnership Nurse another $20
11:58 million towards community
11:59 based asthma programming in
12:00 the bronx a $12 million
12:02 investment in your at
12:04 substance use recovery
12:05 programs across New York City
12:08 and a board of health
12:09 resolution condemning federal
12:10 tax on public health insurance
12:12 and resolving to fight back.
12:17 Each of these is both an
12:17 accomplishment and also a
12:18 promise of more come. I'm
12:20 proud to share them with you
12:23 today, most recently the board
12:23 of health unanimously approved
12:24 the resolution responding t
12:26 olooming cuts to medicaid and
12:29 changes to public health
12:30 insurance options more broadly
12:32 , that resolution also calls
12:33 in New York City and seek
12:36 government to mitigate the
12:37 harms of federal actions and
12:39 educate the public about their
12:42 options that very same day we
12:43 launched a $500000 campaign
12:46 advertising our free services
12:48 that help New yorkers enroll
12:50 in low and no cost health
12:54 insurance. That campaign runs
12:54 through the end of this month
12:55 on social media and newspapers
12:58 on Lincoln chaos, it
13:00 translated into 13 different
13:01 languages, the ad's point, New
13:03 yorkers directly to our health
13:03 insurance enrollment team.
13:08 These services are free of
13:09 charge and available,
13:10 regardless of someone's
13:11 immigration status or ability
13:14 to pay our enrollment
13:15 counselors offer guidance on
13:16 coverage options and help