Volume 22, Number 09 | The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan | July 10 - 16, 2009

City Councilmember Alan Gerson has been missing in the action recently, and for good reason: He’s been battling a case of swine flu.

Gerson fell ill two-and-a-half weeks ago, shortly after the city budget negotiations concluded. He went to the doctor when his fever spiked, and a test for swine flu came back positive.

After a lengthy recuperation, Gerson returned to his office full-time on Tuesday.

“I’m fine,” he told Downtown Express Wednesday. “I’m still tired, but I’m fine.”

As of July 1, a total of 1,262 New Yorkers had been diagnosed with swine flu, but the city Health Dept. estimates that many more people likely fell ill but were not tested. Also as of July 1, 38 people had died of swine flu in the city.

Gerson’s illness forced him to miss or reschedule many Downtown events, including a Council hearing on the World Trade Center, which was postponed, and one of his reelection fundraisers.

— Julie Shapiro