Op- ed
City Neighborhoods Need Supermarkets, Not Pushcarts
BY JOHN R. DURSO

The New York City Council and the Mayor have proposed Intro 665 to increase the number of food carts that sell fresh fruits and vegetables in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs where access to fresh fruit and vegetables is limited. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn should be commended for bringing to light an important issue. Clearly there are not enough quality food stores and supermarkets in neighborhoods of need throughout New York City. This is a complex issue and requires a long-term permanent solution, not a quick fix.

Intro 665 targets low-income areas by police precinct with few restrictions. The limited guidelines are certainly a cause for concern. There could be corners where multiple carts are situated, resulting in unsafe crowding on sidewalks. Carts can park near or in front of groceries and fruit markets causing further financial stress on these establishments. Regulations concerning the inspection of produce need to be further developed prior to the approval of legislation to ensure the heath and safety of the public. It should also be noted that adequate vendor enforcement continues to be an issue for New Yorkers.

The rationale for increasing peddler food vendors is based on the limited opportunities to purchase fruits and vegetables in certain neighborhoods. There is general agreement that more supermarkets should be located in the city's low-income communities and New York City needs an effective strategy that will add quality food stores in more neighborhoods. Various incentives, tax breaks and other strategies will be required. Again, long-term planning is needed, rather than the quick fix.

According to a 2002 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables through supermarkets has been shown to correlate with greater consumption of fresh produce. For every additional supermarket in a location, fruit and vegetable consumption increases by as much as 32 percent. Supermarkets, however, continue to decrease in low-income communities while fast food outlets and bodegas increase.

The "Green Cart" legislation comes at a time when real estate development pressures are making it difficult for basic supermarkets to survive in the city. An Associated store on Myrtle Avenue, at the edge of gentrifying Fort Greene, closed last year when the plaza it was located in was demolished to make way for a massive development project. On the Lower East Side, protests have taken place regarding the potential closing of a Pathmark on Cherry Street. So far the city's attempts to increase supermarkets in neighborhoods of need have been mainly unsuccessful.

Missing in the legislative initiative is adequate public education on the importance of proper diet. Many New Yorkers suffer from health conditions related to poor nutrition, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. Over the last few years, the city has tried to promote healthier eating with limited success. In 2007, the Health Department's initiative to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to bodegas in designated neighborhoods at no cost was mainly unsuccessful. The program lacked effective communication to the residents of those communities and unhealthy foods were chosen over fruits and vegetables. At the same time that junk food is preferred over healthier meals in some communities, supermarkets and unions across the country are successfully expanding nutritional programs. It should be a natural path for the city to utilize the expertise of the supermarket industry and organized labor in providing nutritional information to the public.

The cost of rent and doing business in the city has resulted in many neighborhood groceries closing. It's time for this administration to develop a campaign to interest the supermarket industry so food stores can be opened in many more locations throughout the five boroughs. The mayor has been extremely successful in promoting business in this city and now needs to focus on bringing quality supermarkets to neighborhoods of need. Unlike temporary pushcarts, groceries, drug stores and supermarkets stabilize neighborhoods and provide permanent jobs for local residents.

John Durso is president of both Local 338 of RWDSU and of the Long Island Federation of Labor. Local 338 represents nearly 20,000 workers in the wholesale and retail food industry. The union is an affiliate of the 1.4 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers Union.