Forward

David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz are writing the history of the effects of the horrible events of September 11 on policy for the health of populations in the United States. In this report, the first of three that are planned, they examine the politics of policy in New York City. They base their report on interviews, accounts by journalists, and the first public documents to be released. They emphasize responses to the attack by officials responsible for public health, environmental, educational, and social welfare policy and by various segments of the public.

The authors conclude, “While the immediate response revealed the surprising strength of the existing public health and social welfare infrastructure in New York City, the attack also revealed important weaknesses in that infrastructure. . . .” The most important implication of this conclusion for the immediate future is that policy for response to emergencies “must continue to expand the purview of public health” to include the “breadth of social and medical activities that determine a population’s health and well-being.”

The Milbank Memorial Fund, an endowed philanthropic foundation, collaborates with decision makers in the public and private sectors to develop and implement policy that maintains and improves health. The Fund is eager to make available reliable information that could inform policymaking. Thus, the Fund is publishing Rosner and Markowitz’s study of the impact of September 11 on policy in three installments in order to make it widely available as soon as segments have been researched, written, reviewed, and edited.

Rosner and Markowitz are distinguished historians who have written extensively about recent events. Brief descriptions of their careers are at the end of the report. Many people made possible their research and the prompt publication of their findings. They are identified in the Acknowledgments.

Daniel M. Fox
President

Samuel L. Milbank
Chairman