A little late: Nassau has a new health commissioner

                                                                                  

Nassau did not have a health commissioner last Friday -- when Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced that a trace of the polio virus had been detected in Nassau wastewater.

On Monday, Nassau had a health commissioner: former Orange County Health Commissioner Irina Gelman.

What a difference a weekend makes.

Blakeman had announced Gelman's appointment on July 23 to replace Nassau Health Commissioner Larry Eisenstein, who left July 29.

But Gelman was nowhere to be seen at Blakeman's polio news conference Friday, when he said the county was working closely with the state health department. 

In fact, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who never lets an emergency go to waste,  declared a statewide disaster Friday because the polio virus had been detected in the wastewater of four counties;  one active infection had been diagnosed in Rockland County.

Polio is a serious disease. Most folks would expect the health commissioner to be around during a health emergency.

When asked about Gelman's absence, a Blakeman spokesman said Friday she had not started her new job in Nassau. He did not provide a starting date.

Turns out Gelman's first day was Monday.

Almost instantaneously, her photo and title as Nassau Health Commissioner, were posted on the county website.

After Blakeman announced her selection in July, dozens of Nassau parents who opposed Hochul's mandate to mask school children during Covid-19 last year, protested on Blakeman's Facebook page.

Gelman, a podiatrist with a degree in public health,  was a strong proponent of mask mandates, child vaccination and a Hochul supporter, the posters complained.

Blakeman responded that she understood his position against mask mandates.

All angry parents can do now is post. There will be no official forum to discuss her appointment.

Unlike most Nassau commissioners, the health commissioner does not need approval from the county legislature, a spokeswoman for the Republican legislative majority confirmed today.

The county charter says the health commissioner only needs approval from the Board of Health, which Blakeman said in July had unanimously approved her.

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