I submitted an application recently to a new building going up near Ground Zero. Which started me thinking about my asthma.

Every night on the news, there seems to be more and more coverage of first-responders of 9/11 with all these respiratory issues. Not all respiratory illnesses rear their ugly heads immediately. They can wreak havoc years after the fact. My dad has a friend who was a plumber for many years. After retirement, he was diagnosed with asbestos poisoning. It seems that all those years working with pipes in pre-war buildings, took their toll on him.

I know the city says the air quality is safe there now. But for someone like me, already struggling with asthma, it seems like a risky area to settle in. But, then again, I probably shouldn’t be living in New York City altogether.

I belong to the Church of Public Health, where everything unhealthy is sinful and people spend tax payer money for the good of the body.

I shouldn’t be smoking or eating junk food. I shouldn’t be sitting at a desk all day. I should be hiking, eating tofu, and curing AIDS. But I’m not- yet. And the other day I did something terrible: I smoked a cigarette.

Anyway, something compelled me to smoke a ciggy, and so I did. The same thing, I assume, compelled me to stand in the Times Square Military Island whilst listening to Egyptian music whilst smoking this ciggy. So I did. It felt amazing…like all my anxieties floated away and I could be tranquil in the middle of one of the busiest squares in all of New York City.

With all of the initiatives this city has come up with to curb smoking, it’s not surprising that smoking rates have barely declined for the poorest segments of the city’s residents. Smoking feels good. It eases mental pain. Charging $8+ for a pack is just cruel. Maybe fried chicken or cheetos should cost $15. And a bottle of soda will be $20.

Cigarette taxes in this city go to fund City-wide programs. But it also creates a black market for cigarettes, which increases cigarette-related violence. Is it really worth it to keep increasing taxes? Maybe my Church should see the bigger picture.

Being a suburban boy, born and raised in Westchester, I was once accustomed to large front and back yards, lots of sports, spending afternoons outside on the grass, working around the house, and outdoor BBQs. But, after 7 years of city-bound existence (4 in Boston, last 3 in Manhattan), needless to say, I have become used to cement as far as the eye could see. I have often been heard complaining about how there is nothing outdoorsy to do. But, over the last month or two, I have come to realize that Gotham offers a wide range of outdoor activities besides just The Big Park that are, if not within it’s borders, easily accessible via public transportation!

One of the gems in which I recently began visiting is the East River Park, along the FDR, between 7th street and Houston. In addition to great views, this water’s edge patch of green has a soccer/football field, baseball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts, open utility pitches, and a track. I go with buddies there at least once a week for the past month. We usually play soccer, but we also sometimes play football. And you don’t need a massive group to play. You can go solo and join one of the many pick-up games!

MORE AFTER THE JUMP.
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Today I met Thomas Frieden. For those of you who don’t closely follow the public health scene in NYC, he is the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. We giggled and flirted.
Just kidding, I watched him give a speech.

The city is in its heyday for progressive health interventions, apparently all thanks to Bloomberg. Rejoice.

Here are just a few programs the city will be heavily implementing in the next few years:

Healthy Bodega Initiative:
“Participating bodegas will receive shipments of fresh, ready-to-eat local carrots and apples (50 packages of each). Participating bodegas will offer a “buy one get one free” discount to customers (each pack costs 50 cents). If bodega owners want to continue carrying the snacks, they will be able to re-order from the distributor.”

Trans fat ban:
Restaurants will have until July 1, 2007, to make sure that all oils, shortening and margarine containing artificial trans fat used for frying or for spreads have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Oils and shortening used to deep fry yeast dough and cake batter are not included in the first deadline. By July 1, 2008, all foods must have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving if they have any artificial trans fat.

SPARK! (Sport, Play and Active Recreation for Kids!):
Provides skills for teachers to incorporate physical activity into childhood education.

Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP):
This program aims to track, prevent, educate, and advocate about diabetes. It also seeks to improve the quality of care for diabetes.

Shape Up New York:
“Free family fitness program offered at parks sites, community centers and housing sites around New York City. Fitness classes are open to adults and children. Classes include step aerobics, fitness walking, light weights, stretching and toning exercises.”

As you can see, these are mainly targeting the every-growing obesity epidemic, particularly for low-income residents. I hope the DOHMH realizes that we’re barely scratching the surface of this problem. Maybe a better approach would be to give working mothers more time with their families. Oh wait, that’s impossible.

As the dog days of summer draw ever closer, air condition sales must be astronomical! Staying cool in the summer months is always a challenge, but The Consumerist has some really helpful hints.

Most important, size matters… At least as it pertains to AC. “Do I need 5k BTUs? Maybe I need 8k?” Here’s the answer. To get your necessary BTUs, take the total area of your room (length X width) and multiply that by 30. Add 2,000 to the answer, and that is your BTU number. But, Consumerist is sure to point out a number of important caveats.

• If the room is shaded, reduce the BTUs by 10%.
• If the room is very sunny, increase the BTUs by 10%.
• If you plan on placing the air conditioning unit in your kitchen, add 4,000 BTUs.
• If more than two people will regularly be in the room (e.g., an office), add 600 BTUs per person.

Be sure to stay cool this summer! And for some funny relevant pictures, check out Cool-Props.

[photo courtesy Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection]

We have enough to worry about here in this city : a taxi assailant, coyote attacks not far from the city, and now a brush-fire in Queens messing up the LIRR service between Jamaica and Queens (I thought those fires happened in open wooded areas)

Now here is the scariest of all — Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old attorney, traveled on a transatlantic flight while infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of tuberculosis. Not only did he fly into New York, but spent some time in Bellevue. Now, public health officials are trying to track down the people who flew on the flight with Speaker. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am praying this illness has not spread. With the airborne nature of this contagion, and straphangers crushed inside subway cars, many of whom cough in each others’ faces, let alone put their germy hands on poles, this has disastrous potential. Have I planted seeds of paranoia in anyone’s hypochondriac imagination. Just do what I have always done: wash hands as soon as possible after disembarking from any form of mass transit.

In an interesting development, 1010wins recently reported that one Upper East Side resident is suing the estate of late Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle. (Authors Note: This is actually the third lawsuit filed against the Lidle estate) As Dana reported when it happened, Lidle’s small plane crashed into a residential building on East 72nd on York after the pilot apparently becoming disoriented, cutting his own life short as well as that of his instructor, Tyler Stanger. There is no official finding as to who was actually in control of the plane at the time of the crash.

This is very interesting. Surely, an argument can be made that this is punitive, as insurance should have figuratively covered any expenses relating to repair damage of materials, and that people may or may not be trying to profit on tragedy. I personally feel that the people in the apartment whose lives were effected by the incident, tragic as it may have been, deserve restitution if they can in fact prove their suffering. After all, it was not their mistake for living in a building that was hit by a plane.

What do you think? Is this man being fair or overly litigious for suing the estate of Cory Lidle?

[photo courtesy Gawker]

Seems the NYC DOH is considering a push for adult circumcision, as well as an increase in childhood circumcision as a preventative measure against HIV infection. All of this is stemming from a study made by the World Health Organization on African populations that showed that HIV transmission rates were up to 60% lower among circumcised heterosexual men.

I’ve got a HUGE problem with this. First the study was done on straight men, the largest at risk group in Africa. The largest at risk groups in NYC are IV drug users and gay men. No study has been done on correlations between gay men, circumcision and HIV transmission, and circumcision is going to have no impact on IV drug use transmission. The study also doesn’t address condom use among the uncircumcised population. Studies on African men have long shown that they refuse to use condoms which has added greatly to the HIV epidemic in that region. (Of course it doesn’t help that the Catholic church discourages condom use and that people are so under educated that they believe things like holy water or sex with a virgin can cure HIV.) Why would a city agency push a painful and expensive procedure on a population for which no study has shown a benefit? Yes, fund a study. But why waste tax dollars on promoting a new “solution” that is anything but? Who is the city to tell me what to do with my penis anyway? Condoms are affective, easy to use, and don’t involve several weeks of pain, not to mention reduction in sensation afterwards. The DOH needs to focus on HIV education and keeps its grubby mitts out of my pants.

The numbers are in and all over the news. Because of the new free condom campaign, City Hall gave away a record 5 million in the first month – a huge difference from the usual 1.5 million. That’s a LOT of condoms in 30 days. Mayor Bloomberg is calling it a “Sensation” and it looks like he’s right.

I guess good packaging and advertising DO work. If you haven’t seen the ads all over the place, the new wrapper is stamped with the letters “NYC CONDOM” in the same font and colors used on city subway maps and signs. Which is great, but also sad to me that after all these years of New York’s efforts to reduce the rates of STD’s and unplanned pregnancies, it took this new campaign to increase distribution. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee of anything, but it’s promising.

If you’re looking for the free condoms for yourself, you can pick them up at any of the locations listed here.
I LOVE that so many establishments jumped on the bandwagon!

What I still don’t get is how the new package design helps track effectiveness. Am I missing something, or has my morning coffee not kicked in yet.

With the elation that spring is finally here in NYC, comes a tradeoff of sorts. As I pass the garden in front of my building, I can picture the tulips soon to come — my favorite flower. But then I am reminded of the other side of the coin, as I let out a huge ahchoo!!!!!!

Yes, it always brings me back ot Dr. Sidney Rand’s office in Elmhurst. Memories of lying on my stomach, 60 scratches on my back, each infused with a different allergen. They tell me to lie still for 45 minutes but after 30 I scream for the nurse, because I can’t take the itching anymore. “Oh yes, cat” she says “wow, that scratch really blew up! No pet kitties for you!” I knew that, but what I found out later was that I had to worry about beech trees in March and April, flower pollen May through mid-August, and ragweed from mid-August until November. My only allergy-free months would always be December through to February. At the first bud blooming, so do the allergies. So although I am thrilled that the days are longer and the mercury is rising, I am saving up my Claritin® coupons!! Spring has sprung, the pollen is here!