Michael Bloomberg has quickly emerged as one the nation’s leading public health advocates, using his role as mayor not only to improve the health of New Yorkers, but also to show how determined municipal leadership can help create healthier communities.

During his tenure as major, Michael Bloomberg has implemented a wide variety of creative, groundbreaking policies designed to increase access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity throughout the city, particularly in lower-income areas. Many of these visionary approaches have served as models for other communities nationwide.

New York was one of the first cities in the nation to help patrons make more informed decisions about their food choices by requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to label their menus with calorie information. The city also was among the first to impose strict limits on artificial trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

To increase access to healthy foods and beverages, New York created the Healthy Bodega initiative, which provides healthy food samples and promotional support to grocers in lower-income areas to encourage them to carry 1% milk and fruits and vegetables. Under Bloomberg’s leadership, the city also:

• passed a Green Carts bill, which supports mobile produce vendors in lower-income areas;
• increased economic development opportunities for food retailers in lower-income areas;
• added a director of retail to the city staff, which helps grocers understand legal requirements, obtain permits and licenses and identify government assistance programs;
• expanded farmers’ markets that use the city’s Healthy Bucks program, which provides coupons to eligible individuals to buy produce at farmers’ markets in lower-income areas.

Bloomberg’s administration has been equally active in advocating for safe places to be physically active. Under the mayor’s leadership, the city made a multi-million dollar investment to improve parks and greenways in the south Bronx and other lower-income areas of the city. The city’s Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative also has expanded access to safe places to play by constructing or improving playgrounds in underserved neighborhoods throughout the city.

Bloomberg‘s PlaNYC initiative features plans for the completion of a 1,800-mile system of bike routes by 2030. This includes the construction of 504 miles of separated bike paths, as well as 1,296 miles of striped or marked bicycle lanes. More than 420 miles already have been constructed. Bloomberg also has worked with the city’s Department of Transportation to facilitate the construction of bike racks around the city.

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