HEALTHIER NEW YORKERS ALL

On the same day that Brooklyn City Councilman Joel Rivera proposed restricting fast food eateries, the second year Take Care New York (TCNY) progress report found that New Yorkers are taking steps to live longer with an extra spring in their step. Launched in 2004 by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the city's TCNY claims to have helped reduce HIV/AIDS deaths by 300, assisted 290,000 more New Yorkers in acquiring a regular doctor, helped decrease alcohol and drug related deaths by 176 and reduced adult smoking rates 13 percent from 2002 to 2005-although last year the number of smokers went up 3 percent to 18.9 percent of New Yorkers. Using 2002 as a benchmark, some of these healthiness gains happened before TCNY's implementation in 2004. While Rivera focused on reigning in fast food restaurants at an obesity epidemic health committee hearing at City Hall, TCNY's 2006 strategic direction involves working with restaurants to eliminate trans fats found in some fried food and snacks. The future, according to the TCNY, promises a long healthy life.