New York City’s embattled Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot — who told a top NYPD official she didn’t “give two rats’ asses” about police at the height of the coronavirus pandemic — resigned Tuesday, expressing “deep disappointment” of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s handling of the health crisis.
Barbot submitted her resignation letter to City Hall Tuesday morning, with de Blasio confirming she was stepping down at an abruptly called press conference.
“I leave my post today with deep disappointment that during the most critical public health crisis in our lifetime, that the Health Department’s incomparable disease control expertise was not used to the degree it could have been,” she wrote in the letter that was sent to de Blasio.
“Our experts are world renowned for their epidemiology, surveillance and response work. The city would be well served by having them at the strategic center of the response not in the background.”
Barbot has served as health commissioner since December 2018.
Her resignation follows criticism from Health Department officials over de Blasio’s handling of the outbreak and after he appointed the city’s Health + Hospitals Corporation in May to handle contact tracing — a method historically handled by the Health Department.
Barbot came under fire mid-coronavirus pandemic for telling NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan “I don’t give two rats’ asses about your cops” while blowing off an NYPD request for 500,000 face masks.
De Blasio refused to say whether the beef or Barbot’s incendiary remarks had anything to do with her sudden departure.
“It had been clear certainly in recent days that it was time for a change,” he said at the press conference. “We need an atmosphere of unity, of common purpose.”
He added, “There’s a difference between tension and different viewpoints. There’s always different viewpoints.”
Barbot announced her resignation to her Health Department colleagues in a separate email Tuesday morning that was obtained by The Post.
It does not say why she’s stepping down.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve at the helm of an agency with its long and distinguished history in promoting and protecting New Yorkers’ health through ordinary times and during some of the most challenging moments in our city’s history,” Barbot wrote.
De Blasio quickly announced her replacement — Dr. Dave Chokshi, a top official at NYC Health + Hospitals — in a press release that doesn’t once mention Barbot by name.
Barbot and de Blasio’s relationship soured early into the pandemic as they warred over how to handle the health crisis. A source described their relationship as “toxic.”
The former commissioner was frequently absent from de Blasio’s daily coronavirus press briefings, with her last appearance on July 7.
She was supposed to host a virtual town hall at noon Tuesday — with more than 550 people registered — but the event was canceled shortly after City Hall sent the press release announcing she was being replaced.
In her resignation letter to staffers, Barbot gushed about her team’s “world class skills” — while taking a subtle swipe at City Hall.
“Your experience and guidance have been the beacon leading this city through this historic pandemic and that to successfully brace against the inevitable second wave, your talents must be better leveraged alongside that of our sister agencies,” she said.
A source railed that Barbot was pushed out — saying it gives the illusion of a Health + Hospitals “takeover” of the Health Department.
“They made it very clear that they wanted her gone. They marginalized her, pushed her to the sidelines and stripped her of her authority,” the source said. “This is about City Hall wanting a docile commissioner. She refused to bow to political pressure again and again. She never backed down, she always defended her experts.”
Another Barbot ally said she stuck to her guns in her argument with Monahan over the masks.
“How could you agree in good conscience agree to give the police department this gear when the hospitals don’t have enough?” the source said. “To walk away from that commissionership which is her dream job, it’s very painful.”
Chokshi served as the hospitals system’s chief population health officer and a “key leader in the city’s COVID-19 response,” said the release.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our City’s response in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime public health crisis,” Chokshi said in a statement. “I’m honored to serve the people of New York City with the extraordinary team at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Together, we will emerge from this pandemic as a stronger, fairer, and healthier city.”
Chokshi worked as a White House Fellow in the Obama administration and was the principal health adviser to the secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2016 to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.
He also served on the FEMA delegation to the city after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and as a special adviser to then-City Health Commissioner Tom Farley in 2011. He will continue working as a primary care physician at Bellevue Hospital while serving as health commissioner.
Additional reporting by Lia Eustachewich