Health Commissioner Thomas Farley Awards Spark’s Deli of Long Island City the Health Department’s First A Grade for Sanitary Conditions The Health Department has launched New York City’s new restaurant grading system, awarding the first A grade to a well-kept deli in Long Island City. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley presented the grade to owners Jose and Antonio Araujo, congratulating them for performing so well on an unannounced sanitary inspection. He heralded the luncheonette as a model for the city’s 24,000 other eating establishments. To complement the posting of grades at restaurants, a revamped website was unveiled that makes it easier for consumers to find detailed, up-to-date inspection results for any of the city’s 24,000 eating establishments. Read the press release See the new restaurant inspection website Information for Food Service Operators
Health Department Reports 75% of New Yorkers Living with HIV/AIDS Are 40 or Older and More than a Third Are over 50 HIV/AIDS and the risky behaviors that spread it are often associated with youth. However, the Health Department reports older adults now account for a growing percentage of people living with the disease. Some 75% of HIV-positive New Yorkers are now 40 or older, and more than a third are 50 or older. Read the press release Read the full report (PDF)
Health Department Reports High Level of West Nile Virus Activity in the City The Health Department has detected West Nile Virus in several areas of New York City this week. The number of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus is unusually high at this point in the season. So far this year, through regular sampling of mosquitoes collected from the five boroughs, mosquitoes with the virus have been found in Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. No human cases have been detected. The agency issued an alert to medical providers throughout the city, asking them to be on the look out for possible cases of West Nile virus and to report them. Read the press release Learn more See the spray schedule
Health Department Announces that Bronx Residents have Received More than 375,000 HIV Tests since 2008, Surpassing a Three-Year Goal in Less than Two Bronx residents have received more than 375,000 HIV tests since the launch of “The Bronx Knows” HIV Testing Initiative in 2008. The two-year milestone far exceeds the initiative’s three-year goal of helping 250,000 Bronx adults learn their HIV status. The Bronx Knows is a borough-wide collaboration among 75 community organizations, religious groups, health care providers and elected officials. The initiative has helped 1,275 people learn they are HIV-positive. Read the press release Learn more about The Bronx Knows
Cigarette Prices Hit $11 per Pack in New York City Today Starting July 1, New York City smokers will have to pay $11 or more for a pack of cigarettes. The $1.60 New York State tax increase will push the cost of cigarettes to more than $300 a month and $4,000 a year for people smoking a pack a day. Although New York City has reached its lowest rate of smoking on record (15.8%), nearly a million New York City adults are still putting themselves, and often the people closest to them, at increased risk of cancer, heart disease, emphysema and many other deadly and disabling illnesses by continuing to smoke. The Health Department encourages New Yorkers to take this occasion to quit. Smokers can get help by calling 311 or 866-NY-QUITS. Read the press release See the latest television ads How to quit smoking Visit nysmokefree.com
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