State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, who leads the state Health Department and has played a key role in shaping New York’s pandemic response, is resigning from his post. Zucker worked closely with former Governor Andrew Cuomo and, in recent weeks, some state politicians and commentators have called for him to follow his former boss out the door.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Zucker submitted his resignation during a press conference Thursday morning and said he will remain in his position until it is filled. Asked whether she placed any pressure on Zucker to resign, Hochul said, “I think I made it very clear on my first day in office that I’d be looking to build a new team and I am building that team.”

When Hochul stepped into her role as governor at the end of August, she said she would take 45 days to review personnel in the administration. Hochul had not hinted previously that Zucker would be ousted, and the New York Post reported that she had even asked him to stay. But she said Thursday that she agreed with his decision to step down.

“He has been a dedicated public servant for over seven-and-a-half years,” Hochul said. “He worked hard through the pandemic and I want to thank him for his service on behalf of the people of this state.”

Hochul declined to say who might replace Zucker but said announcements of new members of the administration will come ahead of the early October deadline she gave herself to revamp state leadership.

In his resignation letter, Zucker said he is leaving at a time when the state has made considerable progress in addressing the coronavirus. “Though we continue to address new quagmires related to the pandemic… I believe that in our particular state, the most difficult aspects of this may be behind us,” he said (emphasis his). Still, he added that New Yorkers are left to “normalize” living with this “seemingly endemic” disease.

Zucker joined the state Health Department in 2013, early in Cuomo’s tenure. He had a hand in addressing public health crises such as the opioid epidemic and Ebola, as well as major initiatives that have had a wide-ranging impact on New Yorkers, including an overhaul of the state’s now-$80 billion Medicaid program.

Zucker also played a key leadership role during the pandemic, helping to implement policies to mitigate the spread of the virus. He came under fire for his decision last spring to allow people who were in the hospital for COVID-19 to be transferred directly into nursing homes, but defended the move, saying it was not the primary cause for rampant transmission in senior care facilities. A subsequent investigation by the state attorney general found that the number of nursing home deaths in New York had been severely undercounted. 

Amid the sexual harassment investigation that precipitated Cuomo’s exit, there were reports of an overall toxic culture in Albany that some sources say Zucker contributed to. Sources in Albany told WNYC/Gothamist that the state Health Department under Zucker and Cuomo did a poor job of communicating major policy decisions to both employees and outside collaborators, including local health departments throughout the state. Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx), who chairs the Senate Health Committee, called him one of Cuomo’s “loyalists.”

In his letter, Zucker said, “With a fierce dedication to the public’s health, I have carried it through many a crisis in the last seven years and five months and placed the welfare of our residents at the forefront of all things, professional and personal.”

Hochul said Thursday that Zucker “has the opportunity to move on to new ventures” but did not specify what he will do next. She said he will stay on board until a new commissioner is “identified, is onboarded and is ready to hit the ground running.”

“Dr. Zucker’s ability to serve as the Commissioner of Health was hindered beyond repair by his decisions allowing the agency he led on behalf of the people of New York to become a political tool for Cuomo and his allies,” Rivera said in a statement to WNYC/Gothamist following Thursday’s announcement. “His resignation is warranted and another step towards ensuring we hold those who neglected their duties under the Cuomo administration accountable.”

This story has been updated to include a statement from State Senator Gustavo Rivera.