This document, which reviews the health problems of blacks in New York State, is the first volume of a study of the needs of the two million blacks in New York. The health status of blacks is examined in each of the following phases of the life cycle: (1) maternal; (2) infancy; (3) childhood; (4) adolescence; (5) adulthood; and (6) the elder years. Related issues of services, access to and availability of medical care, and affirmative action to increase the number of medical and health care professionals to serve the black community are also reviewed. The following preliminary findings are discussed: (1) the health status of blacks has improved substantially in the past 5 years, but significant disparities continue to exist between blacks and other New Yorkers; (2) there is a clear connection between poverty and poor health, with a complex interaction of socioeconomic and behavioral factors adversely affecting the health and longevity of blacks; (3) blacks of all ages are grossly overrepresented among the poor; (4) New York State has a much higher proportion of its poverty population concentrated in poverty areas than does the nation as a whole; (5) the black poor are massed in urban areas which have substandard, overcrowded housing and adverse environmental conditions; (6) black communities have reduced access to preventive health services and to acute and long-term care; and (7) living conditions appear to be connected to the disproportionately high rates of low birthweight, infant mortality, chemical dependence, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease among blacks. Statistical data are included on 16 tables and one graph. Each chapter includes a list of references. (FMW)