THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS City Hall
New York, NY 10007
(212) 788-7116
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
July 28, 2011 Contact: (212) 788-7116
Please email photo requests to walatriste@council.nyc.gov
Release #: 075-2011 COUNCIL VOTES ON COMPREHENSIVE FOODWORKS LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE NEW YORK CITY FOOD SYSTEM
Legislation To Help New York’s Food Economy and Encourage Environmental Sustainability
Revitalizing and Transforming The Gateway To Queens: Council to Approve Rezoning of Sunnyside-Woodside. 5,000 Jobs to be Created at Gotham Center in Long Island City New York, NY-At today’s Stated meeting the Council voted on five pieces of legislation and several resolutions as part of the Food Works initiative. The legislation aims to encourage regional farming, facilitate the identification of city property for gardens or agricultural use and decrease the city’s waste and energy usage, while also increasing the transparency of the city’s progress toward better nutritional outcomes and public health. The bills were first announced in Speaker Quinn’s FoodWorks initiative late last year. “These bills are crucial to the goal of Foodworks – to use our food system to create jobs, protect our environment, and improve public health,” said Speaker Quinn. “By encouraging city agencies to buy regional food, we’ll keep more local dollars in the local economy. We’ll make it easier for New Yorkers to grow their own food in rooftop greenhouses, and push city government to purchase food without unnecessary packaging. Through a database of city owned properties, we’ll find potential locations for new gardens and urban farms. And finally, by requiring the city to report on major data points we’ll be able to hold ourselves accountable and make sure all these initiatives are getting results.”
ENCOURAGING CITY AGENCIES TO PURCHASE NEW YORK STATE & REGIONAL FOOD
The Council voted on legislation that would encourage city agencies to make best efforts to purchase New York State food—food that is grown, produced, harvested, or processed in New York—by doing the following: • Establishing guidelines for city agencies that will assist in increasing the purchase of New York state food, using provided by the State Department of Agriculture and Markets;
• Publishing such guidelines on the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) website;
• Training agency contracting personnel on the implementation of such guidelines;
• Monitoring each agency’s implementation of such guidelines;
• Submitting an annual report to the Speaker of the Council detailing the City’s efforts to implement such guidelines and documenting the City’s progress towards increasing the amount of New York State food purchased based on available data reported by vendors. By procuring food that is grown locally, the City aims to:
-support the New York State farming economy,
-reduce transportation impacts and costs
-encourage the long term security of our regional food shed
-increase transparency and traceability in city food purchasing
"I, along with the Council, and with much credit to Speaker Quinn, have become a strong advocate for local agriculture. We can provide locally grown food to city agencies as well as the kitchens of New Yorkers," said Councilmember Gale A. Brewer, Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee. "Since my July 7, 2011 New York State Farm and Infrastructure tour in Orange and Ulster Counties, it's clear to me that we have the production and processing capacity to partner with our farmers, get healthier, teach our kids to eat right, grow the economy, and save money. I look forward to the passage and implementation of today's legislation which moves our city toward increasing the use of locally grown and regionally processed foods in our agencies and even our schools."
The Council also voted on a resolution urging the State to expand its preference for food originating in New York State. This expansion would allow New York City to institute procurement preferences for the purchase of food originating within the greater New York region, including nearby states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. “The FoodWorks plan addresses the agricultural production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food, as well as post – consumption opportunities to reduce waste,” said Council Member Darlene Mealy, Chair of the Contracts Committee. “Several of the bills and resolutions we will vote on, are pieces of legislation arising from FoodWorks vision that bear on City Procurement. This is a win-win for local farmers and New York City. I want to thank Speaker Christine Quinn, for her vision for this city to become a more sustainable city.”
REDUCING PACKAGED WASTE Approximately one-third of the waste we generate as a city is composed of packaging. Examples of packaging waste include boxes for consumer goods, food take-out containers, and beverage bottles and cans. Additionally, New York City spends upwards of $310 million per year to dispose of our residential and institutional waste, which means approximately $100 million per year is spent to dispose of packaging waste. Furthermore, City residents bear a disproportionate burden for disposing of packaging since all residential waste disposal is paid for by tax dollars. In contrast, product and packaging manufacturers bear no responsibility for the packaging waste their products generate. In order to reduce unnecessary waste, the Council will vote on a bill that would require the Director of Citywide Environmental purchasing, in consultation with the Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability to:
• establish guidelines to assist in the reduction of packaging;
• make such guidelines available to city agencies; and
• publish such guidelines online. To encourage vendors to reduce excessive waste, the bill would require agencies, in conjunction with their requests for bids, to make reference to guidelines that seek (wherever practicable):
• the elimination of packaging for product protection
• packaging that is reusable or recyclable
• the reuse of packaging materials by contractors. The bill would also require the Director of Citywide Environmental purchasing, to establish a program to identify city contractors who consistently further the goals of the packaging reduction guidelines. "Intro-461 will result in the creation of guidelines for reducing packaging and would require City agencies to follow these guidelines as they solicit bids from City contractors," said Council Member Annabel Palma, prime sponsor of the bill. "This common sense legislation should help to control the costs associated with disposal of this waste while allowing City government to lead by example as we seek to create a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly New York." The Council also voted on a resolution that would call on the New York State Legislature to regulate the amount and type of packaging used to encase goods procured by the State and its localities in order to minimize the amount of solid waste generated by purchased goods.
CREATING A SEARCHABLE DATATBASE OF CITY OWNED PROPERTY:
The City Council voted on legislation that would require the Department of City-wide Administrative Services (DCAS) to create and maintain a searchable database of all city-owned and leased real property, including information regarding the location and current use of the listed property. Currently, New York City and its agencies own or lease a diverse inventory of about 18,500 properties. The information on these properties is available in various forms, but is not collected in one, user-friendly database. When passed, the public database that will be created by this legislation will help show whether city owned property is being used to its fullest extent. This information will empower the public to identify underused or unused property that can be used for other purposes such as, community gardening, urban agriculture, open spaces, affordable housing, or economic development. REQURING THE CITY TO ISSUE AN ANNUAL FOOD SYSTEM METRICS REPORT The Council voted on legislation that will require the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (OLTPS) to issue an annual report that will measure specific information on various “metrics” across each phase of the food system. The nineteen different metrics will establish a baseline understanding of our food system’s performance and how city programs and decisions affect the food system. “I am pleased to be an active part of the Food Works initiative. Speaker Quinn has worked very hard to make healthy living an achievable goal for all New Yorkers,” said Council Member Ines Dickens. “Additionally, we will be able to make an informed assessment about the quality of food produce that is being distributed, especially as it impacts on our youth and our seniors. I am also interested in the independent farming community and I believe that the metric report will provide information to the City Council on the inclusion of the minority, small business farming community in the city's procurement process.” In the research for the Speaker’s 2010 Food Works report, there were notable gaps in the basic data that was available about food the City purchases and serves and the impact of various food-related programs. Each of the metrics that OLTPS would be required to include in the annual city food metrics report is related to FoodWorks’ goals and recommendations. The annual food system, metrics report which will be issued for each fiscal year on September 1, will include, among other things: • Information about the county of origin of food products purchased by the Department of Education (DOE) and the extent to which milk and fresh whole produce purchased by DOE is locally or regionally produced.
• Information about the extent to which our local communities are benefiting from City food initiatives, including FRESH, Healthy Bodegas, and Green Carts.
• Information about the City’s efforts to improve the nutritional value of meals served in public schools, hospitals, senior centers, correctional facilities and homeless shelters. GREENHOUSES The Council also voted on a bill that would add greenhouses to the list of rooftop structures that will be excluded from height limitations and from being considered an additional story when the greenhouse and any other allowed rooftop structure would occupy in no more than 33 1/3 percent of the roof area. "I would like to commend the Speaker for her hard work on the entire Food Works Initiative," stated Council Member Dilan, the Chair of the Council's Housing & Building Committee. "As part of this initiative, Int. No. 338-A and Res. No. 507 will encourage and facilitate the growing demand for greenhouses and green roofs, which are good for the environment, and contribute positively to the health and well-being of all New Yorkers.” "I, along with the Council, and with much credit to Speaker Quinn, have become a strong advocate for local agriculture. Through legislation such as Intro 452-A and Intro 338-A, we can increase access to locally grown food for city agencies as well as all New Yorkers," said Councilmember Gale A. Brewer, Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee, and prime sponsor of Intro 452-A on Local Food Procurement, and Intro 338-A, related to greenhouses. “In addition, one of my district schools has built a greenhouse, which is producing 8,000 pounds of lettuce a year for the students and the community. Greenhouses present a tremendous opportunity for education and urban agriculture, which is why I introduced Intro 338-A, to make it easier to install greenhouses on city roofs.” In recent years, there has been an increase of interest in using rooftops as agricultural spaces, yet many have faced barriers to using them due to zoning rules and height limitations. This bill will help alleviate that barrier and would apply to existing buildings and new construction. Finally, the Council voted on a resolution that will call on the state to allow the Green Roof Tax Abatement to extend to owners who produce live food producing plants. "The aim of this package of 'FoodWorks' legislation--encouraging environmental sustainability and providing public health benefits--are extremely admirable,” said Council Member Oliver Koppell. “I am very pleased to be the prime sponsor of proposal in this package, Resolution 0507-2010, which calls upon the New York State Legislature to amend the New York State Real Property Tax Law to allow the Green Roof Tax Abatement to extend to owners who produce live food producing plants.” SUNNYSIDE-WOODSIDE REZONING The Council also voted today to approve the rezoning of 130 blocks in the neighborhoods of Sunnyside and Woodside in Queens. This rezoning will preserve the lower-density character of these neighborhoods while allowing for a moderate increase in residential and commercial space along Queens Boulevard and Greenpoint Avenue. The area’s current zoning results in unpredictable building types that can lead to out-of-character construction. Today's action by the Council will create opportunities to channel new growth in appropriate locations near wide streets and transit, while preserving the character that defines these neighborhoods. The following are objectives of the rezoning:
• Protect neighborhood character and reinforce existing development patterns.
• Direct new housing opportunities to major corridors and mass transit.
• Provide zoning incentives for the provision of affordable housing. The units will be developed and administered pursuant to a Lower Income Housing plan with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
• Remove zoning restrictions for small, unenclosed sidewalk cafés along Queens Boulevard. “The Sunnyside-Woodside rezoning goes a long way towards preserving the character of our neighborhoods for generations to come,” said Council Member Van Bramer. “This rezoning will prevent development that is out of character and will prevent out of scale buildings while protecting the low density nature of much of Sunnyside and Woodside. In Queens, we’ve all witnessed too many teardowns of one and two story homes only to be replaced by large, multi-unit dwellings that don’t fit the scale of the surrounding area. This plan was developed through extensive consultation between City Planning, Community Residents, Community Board 2, and myself. Along with preserving Woodside and Sunnyside by reinforcing the current development patterns, it will aid small businesses along Skillman Avenue and Queens Boulevard by permitting small, unenclosed sidewalk cafes, increasing the walkability of those streets, while bringing renewed vibrancy to commercial areas. The increased foot traffic will bring more people out to shop at surrounding stores, boosting our local economy. In addition, a number of affordable housing units will be created. I am proud of my involvement with this rezoning and proud to help preserve the character of the two great neighborhoods.”
GOTHAM CENTER
The Council’s Committee on Land Use also voted today to approve the modification of a previously approved proposal for Tishman Speyer’s project in Long Island City. The project, Two Gotham Center, replaces the aged Queens Plaza Municipal Parking Garage and is central to the revitalization of Queens. At its completion, it is projected to have created 5,000 jobs including 1,600 construction jobs and 3,600 permanent jobs. Two Gotham Center, a 523,00 square foot Class A office building on the corner of Queens Plaza and 28th Street in Long Island City, is the first phase of the proposed 3.5 million square foot Gotham Center. Construction of Phase 2 would add an additional office building of approximately 900,000 square feet along with ground floor retail space.
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