Bureau of Communications

Community Affairs

Page Contents

• • General Information 
• • Speaker, Health Fair, and Events Calendar Requests 
• • Emergency Preparedness

General Information

One of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s key functions is to provide health-related information to New York City residents.

As a critical component of the Health Department’s Bureau of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Office of Community Affairs works primarily with elected officials, community boards and other groups to respond to constituent issues, disseminate important information about agency initiatives, and build support for agency priorities.

The office achieves its objective by:

• Promoting the Health Department’s programs and initiatives
• Developing and enhancing relationships with key external partners (elected officials, community boards, community-based organizations, and other organizations)
• Enhancing distribution of the Health Department’s literature
• Ensuring that the Health Department is appropriately represented at community meetings and public events
• Providing assistance to other Health Department programs in coordinating special projects and events

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Speaker, Health Fair, and Event Calendar Requests

The Office of Community Affairs promotes public events and arranges presentations by the Health Department outreach staff.
Topics include:

• Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention
• Cardiovascular Health (Hypertension)
• Chronic Diseases (Food Label, High Blood Pressure, Medication Adherence, Nutrition, Pharmacists as Your Medication Specialist, Prevent and Control High Cholesterol)
• Communicable Diseases (Hepatitis, food poisoning, etc.)
• Diabetes
• Flu/Influenza
• HIV/AIDS
• Immunization
• Lead Poisoning Prevention
• Mental Health (Depression, Stress)
• Nutrition
• Pest Control
• Poison Control
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Take Care New York
• Tobacco
• Tuberculosis
• West Nile Virus

Speaker and Health Fair Requests

Please note that speaker requests are for classroom settings and health fair requests are for tabling events.

To request a Health Department outreach staff for a public event, complete our Community Affairs Request Form at least 6 weeks prior to your event. We will contact you within 3 business days to discuss your event and how we can best accommodate them. The Health Department does not attend events that require us to provide any monetary payments.

 Events Calendar Requests

The Department’s Events Calendar lists health-related events of interest to the community that are open to the public. To add your event to our Events Calendar, complete our Community Affairs Request Form at least 6 weeks prior to your event. We can only include events within New York City and events that are free to the public. To view events in our calendar, click here.

 Changes in Requests

Requests are reviewed by our staff. If there are any changes to your event or if you have any questions, please contact us by email at communityaffairs@health.nyc.gov.

 Literature Requests

If you are interested in only requesting health literature, please review our health bulletins at www.nyc.gov/health and then call 311 to order our health literature.

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Emergency Preparedness

The Office of Community Affairs serves a vital role in the Health Department's Emergency Preparedness plans. In the event of a public health emergency, the Office of Community Affairs would be responsible for communicating with local community boards and community organizations that serve New York City's various constituencies, particularly non-English speaking communities and other populations with special needs.

The Office of Community Affairs is responsible for disseminating critical emergency communications to these organizations, such as where to receive help or medical care during an emergency and other important information that community residents will need to get through an emergency situation.

The Office of Community Affairs depends on partnering with community and civic organizations to assist in our effort to serve the needs of all New Yorkers and notify residents of critical public health information.

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