Uptown Councilman To Host Bilingual Q&A With Health Commissioner

HARLEM, NY — City Councilmember Mark Levine will host a question and answer session this week with city Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot for both English and Spanish speakers in his district, which spans parts of Harlem, Washington Heights and the Upper West Side.

The virtual Q&A session will be held on Thursday April 23 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the videoconferencing service Zoom. New Yorkers interested in listening in and asking questions are required to register for the meeting in advance, a spokesperson for Councilmember Levine said.

"As our city continues to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, it is more important than ever that you continue to remain informed and update. To that end, my office has been working hard to provide opportunities for the Upper Manhattan community to hear from the important leaders who are working on the frontlines of this pandemic and to give you the chance to ask them your questions," Levine said in a statement.

The upcoming question and answer session will be the second hosted by Levine's office during the coronavirus outbreak. Levine's office previously hosted Dr. Craig Spencer, a specialist in global health at Columbia University.

Dr. Oxiris Barbot was appointed to head up the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in December 2018. Barbot, a native of the Bronx, had been serving as the city's acting health commissioner at the time following a stint as the city's First Deputy Health Commissioner.

Councilmember Levine is currently the chair of the city's health department. In March, Levine recovered from an illness that he suspected was the coronavirus. The lawmaker chose not to get tested for the disease in order to preserve testing resources for people suffering serious cases.