Astoria, LIC Have Highest Infant Mortality Rate In NYC: Report

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Babies born in Western Queens are among the least likely in all of New York City to live to see their first birthday, according to a new Health Department report.

The neighborhoods of Astoria and Long Island City is one of three citywide with a 6.7 infant mortality rate, the highest in the city, according to a report released Monday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Bureau of Vital Statistics.

Infant mortality rates measure the number of babies who die before their first birthday per every 1,000 births.

Queens Village and East Flatbush in Brooklyn also saw an average of 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births from 2015 to 2017. The citywide average was just 4.3, according to the report.

Health Department statisticians also analyzed city infant mortality rates by race, income and nationality. They found rates were highest among black, impoverished and foreign-born New Yorkers.

The infant mortality rate for black New Yorkers was 3.3 times the rate for white New Yorkers in 2017. In very high poverty areas, the 2017 infant mortality rate was 1.4 times the rate in low poverty areas.

Patch editor Kathleen Culliton contributed reporting.