#Don’t blame NYC’s Health boss Dr. Oxiris Barbot for hating to work with de Blasio

Enlarge Image

Dr. Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of NYC’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, resigned from her post on Tuesday.
William Farrington

New York City’s health commissioner quit her post in the middle of the pandemic — but given the way Mayor Bill de Blasio has handled the coronavirus crisis, we can’t say we’re surprised.

Commissioner Oxiris Barbot was far from a perfect pandemic leader. “I don’t give two rats’ asses about your cops,” she told NYPD Chief of Police Terence Monahan in March when police requested 500,000 face masks, amid a shortage.

But it couldn’t have been easy working with Mayor Mismanager. She indicated as much in her Tuesday resignation letter, expressing “deep disappointment that during the most critical public health crisis in our lifetime,” her department’s “incomparable disease control expertise” was wasted.

De Blasio gave jurisdiction over the city’s COVID contact-tracing program to the Health Hospitals Corporation rather than, as is customary, the Health Department. Word soon got out that the project was going about as well as anything under this mayor — riddled with delays and a chaotic hiring process.

Barbot had only served since December 2018 but a source told The Post her relationship with Hizzoner was “toxic.” She hadn’t been seen at one of the mayor’s coronavirus briefings since July 7.

Barbot’s departure seemed abrupt — she was set to host a virtual town hall at noon Tuesday, but her morning resignation put the kibosh on it at the last minute.

Blas hinted he’d decided to fire her days before. If true, it was poor planning — but exactly what we’ve come to expect.