If you have been living in New York City for the last several decades (since the early 1980s to be more precise) then you know who Jonathan Zizmor, MD is. He’s the famed dermatologist who’s subway ads have been splattered everywhere—and haven’t been changed much in as long as he’s been in business.
Now, just as his mansion in the Fieldston section of Riverdale in The Bronx has finally entered contract to be sold for $3,075,000, Zizmor has shut his offices to his practice for good at the age of 70.
He entered the dermatology industry after attending Einstein here in The Bronx and then went on to open his East Side office in Manhattan where he first began treating the rich and elite of NYC but he wasn’t happy with that. He wanted to treat the regular Joe and Jane.
About his subway ads, he told Gothamist back in 2009:
“Dr. Zizmor: There were none, there were no doctors ads. Why did I do it? In those days, dermatology was very exclusive, chic, chic. Most people, different ethnicity groups didn’t even know there were dermatologists. I felt I wanted to open it up, treat people of all demographics and so on. And I really started doing that, from the very rich to the poor, black, white, whatever. So I was the only one on the subway for about 25 years.
Alexandra Zizmor: And people didn’t like it.
Dr. Z: I got a lot of heat.
AZ: Cause you think about doctors, it’s like the academia. Doctors weren’t even in the yellow pages. So here this guy comes along and he’s like advertising on the subway. Meanwhile how many doctors do you now see? It’s like crazy. He was the forefront guy.
Dr. Z: The only one, the only one. If I didn’t have the background, I wouldn’t have had the guts to do it. I would have gotten a lot more heat.”
Jonathan Zizmor, MD wasn’t without controversy. In 2004 he was fined $40,000 by New York State Department of Health for negligence when he failed to conduct proper medical histories on 9 patients and in 2000 he was tied to fraud by the State’s Insurance Department for billing $100,000 for a procedure his office never conducted.
He’s been trying to sell his landmarked Fieldston 6,332 square foot mansion (according to public records) in Riverdale since 2012 and originally listed the property at $4.3 million which StreetEasy reports that it is under contract for $3,075,000 although the official number has yet to be confirmed.
The Zizmors purchased the home back in December of 2001 for an undisclosed amount (NYC Finance records do not indicate a sales price for the purchase).
Take a look at his digs and where your money went to if you ever used his services:
[…] Besides WiFi and charging ports, security cameras (smile!) and digital ad displays are also coming (can you imagine Dr Zizmor ads if he were still in business?) […]