NYC Council FoodWorks Update
Dear New Yorker,
There have been some exciting new developments on the food front this summer that I would like to share with you.
If you have any questions or comments about the latest developments listed below, please feel free to contact Danielle Porcaro in the NYC Council Community Outreach Unit at (212) 788-7300 or dporcaro@council.nyc.gov.
Thanks so much and enjoy the rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
City Council Passes Comprehensive FoodWorks Legislation to Improve NYC's Food System
This past month, the City Council passed a package of bills crucial to many of the far-reaching food system changes outlined in our FoodWorks plan for improving NYC's food system. They include:
- Intro. 452 – Although farms throughout New York State are a vital part of our food system, much of our city's food is flown or trucked from around the country and globe. Under Intro. 452-A, sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer, we'll develop a set of guidelines for city agencies to follow to help make sure that more of our food is being purchased from farmers right here in New York.
- Intro. 461 – Approximately a third of the waste that we generate as a city is comprised of the boxes, containers and other packaging that our food and beverages come in. Intro. 461-A, sponsored by Council Member Annabel Palma, will result in the creation of guidelines for reducing packaging and will require City agencies to follow these guidelines as they solicit bids from City contractors. This will help save taxpayers' money while reducing our impact on the environment.
- Intro. 615 – If we're going to improve our city's food system from the ground up, we need to know exactly where our food is coming from, how it's being distributed to our communities, and the impact it's having on residents and the environment. Intro. 615-A, sponsored by Council Member Inez Dickens, requires the City to issue an annual report covering these and other key areas of our food system. That way, we'll be better able to monitor our progress and ensure that we're achieving the best possible results.
- Reso. 627 – This resolution, introduced by Council Member Debi Rose, calls on the State Legislature to amend the State General Municipal Law to allow New York City to extend preferential treatment to regional farmers. By doing so, we will be able to purchase food not only from farmers within the State, who already receive preferential status, but also from local food providers in the New York region.
- Reso. 628 – The State purchases a large amount of food, too. This affects us on many levels, right down to the type of packaging used. This resolution, introduced by Council Member James Sanders, calls on the State Legislature to follow the City's lead by instituting guidelines to help cut back on wasteful food packaging.
The City Council also passed a package of green roofs bills that will help green our skyline and create a healthier food environment by:
- requiring the City to create a searchable database of city-owned property and features of that property, including whether it's suitable for urban gardens (Intro. 248, sponsored by Council Member Lewis Fidler);
- adding greenhouses to the list of rooftop structures that can be excluded from height limitations, making it easier to install the structures on top of buildings (Intro. 338, sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer); and
- calling on the State Legislature to extend the Green Roof Tax Abatement to live food producing plants, allowing more green roof owners to take advantage of this abatement while providing owners with fresher, locally grown produce (Reso. 507, sponsored by Council Member G. Oliver Koppell).
We'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the passage of these bills, which we expect Mayor Bloomberg to sign into law next week. These reforms will greatly improve our food system, help support regional farms and businesses, and make New York a greener city and home.
Ensuring Funding for Vital Food Program and Initiatives
Even though this was a difficult budget year, we were able to secure funding for a number of initiatives that are vital to the health and well-being of all New Yorkers.
Under the leadership of Finance Chair Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., we were able to restore $1.5 million to the City's Human Resources Administration for direct food purchases by food banks and to assist in the automation of food stamp enrollment at food pantries, soup kitchens, and other key locations.
We were also able to secure funding to help bring farmers' markets into low-income communities across the five boroughs ($60,000) and to expand Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) access at select greenmarkets around the city so that more New Yorkers can use their food stamps to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at these markets ($270,000).
And, as part of our FoodWorks plan, we were able to provide funding to train and place underemployed and underserved New Yorkers in the growing food retail industry ($45,000) and to conduct a study to help us better understand how our food is being distributed and the impact this is having on our communities.
We would like to thank everyone, especially all of the advocates and advocacy groups, who worked with us to help keep funding for food programs a top priority in the Fiscal Year 2012 Adopted Budget.
You can read more about this year's budget agreement on the Council's website at www.council.nyc.gov.
City Council Launches City's First Government-Based Community Supported Agriculture Program
Squash, eggplants, basil, peppers, lettuce, cherries, apricots.
These are just a few of the fresh fruits and vegetables that Council Members and staff are getting from New York's Norwich Farms and Red Jacket Orchards every Thursday as part of the Council's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
Established in April as part of our FoodWorks initiative, the Council CSA program is one of the first in what we hope will be many more work-place CSA programs around the City connecting New Yorkers with fresh, locally grown produce.
You can read more about our Council CSA by clicking on the link below:
For additional information on joining or starting your own CSA program, click here or log on to http://www.justfood.org.
City Continues to Make Headway Cutting Red Tape for Restaurants
In 2009, the City Council created a Regulatory Review Panel through legislation drafted by Council Member Jimmy Oddo. The panel undertook a rigorous review of the way the City regulates small businesses and submitted recommendations to the City Council and the Mayor, one of which, a Business Owner's Bill of Rights, was implemented last year.
We also launched a new pilot program with the Mayor, called the New Business Acceleration Team(NBAT), to help restaurants open their doors more quickly by better coordinating the various regulatory actions that need to take place before a restaurant can open.
We're very happy to report that, as of the end of July, NBAT has helped open 395 restaurants, shortening the permitting process by an average of 2 months.
We hope to be able to build on the success of this program by expanding it to supermarkets sometime in the near future.
If you'd like to learn more about NBAT and the great work that it's doing, click here or visit their website at http://www.nyc.gov/nbat.
