Brooklyn Borough President Comments on Gov. Cuomo’s Proposal for Brooklyn Health Care

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Jan. 9 -- The Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams issued the following statement on Governor Cuomo's State of State Proposal for Brooklyn Health Care:

"I am pleased to hear that Governor Cuomo is following my lead on prioritizing the transformation of Brooklyn into a model for preventative health care. For decades, we have allowed our borough's wellness infrastructure to stagnate and degrade, while generations of children have been raised on junk food from the corner store. Even worse, as the Affordable Care Act is threatened by Congress, more than half a million Brooklynites are at risk of losing their health insurance coverage, which will only further exacerbate the economic divide between those who can and cannot afford to be healthy.

"Brooklyn is the epicenter and the epitome of America's health care crisis -- and nobody appreciates that better than its borough president, one of the tens of thousands of Brooklynites to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. My success in reversing this disease through diet and exercise can be highly replicable, and also it can have a deep and lasting impact on our battles against cancer, heart disease, hypertension, and obesity. To achieve this, we will need a serious investment of financial resources and political will. Thus far, we have not had sufficient or satisfactory coordination with local stakeholders who are critical to this on-the-ground work.

"I would like to hear directly and concretely from Governor Cuomo on how he plans to make this vision into a reality for Brooklynites in need of a health care lifeline. This reality needs to include a greater density of community health clinics, greenmarkets, and recreation centers, focused on free and affordable access in historically underserved neighborhoods. It must focus on education and empowerment, weaning our neighbors off of emergency room overreliance, as well as focusing them on urban farming and workplace wellness. Additionally, this must factor in a more sustainable future for our hospitals, one that is both profitable and purposeful.

"I am glad that Brooklyn health care merited attention in Governor Cuomo's State of the State. I will be truly satisfied when that soundbite translates into sound, coordinated action that redirects Brooklyn's children and families toward healthier futures."

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