A ‘trace’ of outrage
Corey bops Blaz for shifting critical job from one agency to another
“Serious dysfunction” is affecting the city’s efforts to trace coronavirus infections, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Friday at a hearing on Mayor de Blasio’s decision to bypass the Health Department in establishing the tracing program.
De Blasio decided to give the job to the Health + Hospitals Corporation amid reports he is feuding with Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot — who was absent from the City Council hearing.
“It is unclear why it was decided that Health + Hospitals should lead such an immense effort,” said Johnson. “What is clear is the serious dysfunction playing out behind the scenes at a time when New Yorkers desperately need to have confidence in the city government.”
Council members grilled top de Blasio administration officials over why the tracing won’t be led by the Health Department, which historically has led such projects.
Johnson said sniping between city officials and agencies has already eroded the confidence in the city’s tracing efforts.
Barbot’s absence from the hearing came two days after she came under fire for a heated exchange with NYPD brass in mid-March during which she told Chief Terence Monahan that she didn’t give “two rats’ asses” about the department’s need for protective masks.
The timing of the exchange’s leak to the media has prompted speculation that it’s part of a de Blasio effort to push Barbot from her post.
Councilman Mark Levine, who chairs the Health Committee, also questioned why de Blasio put Health + Hospitals in charge of tracing.
“You might think that we would do what every other jurisdiction in America is doing, that we would have our
Health Department run contact tracing for COVID-19,” he said. “This is not the case. We are, in fact, rebuilding these systems in another agency.”
Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who chairs the Hospitals Committee, expressed concerns that H+H’s added responsibility could put even more pressure on the system, which, she said, “was nearly strained to the breaking point just weeks ago.”
“New Yorkers deserve assurances that their hospitals will continue to be there for them,” she said.
H+H President Mitchell Katz spoke for Barbot on more than one occasion at Friday’s hearing. He testified that just three days before the hearing, Barbot told him: “Mitch, we’re on the same team, same uniform, and we’re going to make this work.”
Health Department spokesman Michael Lanza suggested that Barbot’s presence was not necessary because Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who was present, “is head of the division that is most relevant to the topic of discussion.”
“It’s standard for issue experts to testify,” Lanza said.