BP MARKOWITZ ON SUPERMARKETS IN “FOOD DESERTS”: COMMENDS AND RECOMMENDS IMPROVEMENTS TO NEW ZONING INCENTIVES

BP MARKOWITZ TO TESTIFY AT CITY PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING ON FRESH FOODS ZONING TEXT

10:00 A.M. (HEARING BEGINS AT 10:00 – THERE ARE ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
22 READE STREET – SPECTOR HALL
LOWER MANHATTAN

August 4, 2009
 
BP MARKOWITZ ON SUPERMARKETS IN “FOOD DESERTS”: COMMENDS AND RECOMMENDS IMPROVEMENTS TO NEW ZONING INCENTIVES
Praises NYC FRESH Zoning for Neighborhood Grocery Stores amendment that will aid Brooklyn’s efforts to ensure affordable, healthy food options

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, in a letter to City Planning Commission chair Amanda Burden, praised the proposed FRESH Zoning for Neighborhood Grocery Stores amendment to the Zoning Resolution that supports his ongoing initiatives to attract supermarkets and fresh, affordable food to underserved neighborhoods in Brooklyn and throughout the city.

BP Markowitz also made several recommendations addressing the use of quality, regional products and hiring of neighborhood residents as well as the vulnerability of existing grocery stores, the strengthening of incentives for landlords not to opt out of FRESH supermarket sites and safeguards minimizing any displacement of blue-collar jobs in manufacturing districts.

“Access to healthy food is, and has always been, a top priority for my office,” said BP Markowitz. “In order for all of Brooklyn to flourish, it is imperative that our residents have an adequate supply of supermarkets and grocery stores in their neighborhoods to access fresh and affordable foods. It has been my ULURP policy to seek the inclusion of a supermarket as part of my discretionary land use review where deemed appropriate—as in the Shops at Gateway, Gateway Estate and Coney Island, to name a few. I applaud the Department of City Planning, along with the Economic Development Corporation, for supporting these efforts and promoting the development of neighborhood grocery stores and supermarkets in high-need neighborhoods such as those in Brooklyn Community Districts 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16 and 17.”

Recommendations on ensuring food quality and community benefit

BP Markowitz recommends that the Industrial Development Agency consider reference for local contractors and food producers and the hiring of local residents as criteria when granting financial incentives to developers. New store operators should be required to:

• Provide good, quality food—preferably regional produce and products
• Accept foods stamps and WIC
• Maintain a community advisory committee to engage the community
• Hire a majority of employees from the neighborhood
• Pay employees living wages with health benefits
• Be monitored to confirm that all of the requirements are being met for the duration of the store’s operation

Recommendations on Economic Development and Fair Competition

Because a new supermarket may bring increased competition to a neighborhood and impact smaller grocery stores and “mom and pop” retail, BP Markowitz is also suggesting that:

• Consideration be given to walking distances and the spacing of stores in underserved areas
• Eligibility for financial incentives should be expanded to existing stores—including those under 6,000 square feet—so they can upgrade and expand

To address the issue of landlords who may choose to prematurely opt out of the FRESH initiative to take advantage of escalating rents, BP Markowitz also recommends that:

• The City implement a mechanism to reclaim incentives provided by the program and prioritize funding requests that are based on store ownership rather than leasing, unless the leasing agreement is tied to nonprofit ownership

Finally, to safeguard much-needed blue-collar, manufacturing jobs in areas that attract a new supermarket, BP Markowitz is encouraging:

• The monitoring of supermarket openings to ensure that developers who specialize in retail development aren’t edging out blue-collar manufacturing retail for desirable space clustered in and around large supermarkets
• If needed, implementation of zoning changes in manufacturing districts