City Planning Commission launches review to bring green
grocery stores to underserved Queens neighborhoods
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The City Planning Commission
(CPC) has launched
the start of a public review for
an update and expansion of the
Food Retail Expansion to Support
Health (FRESH) program
to bring convenient, accessible
grocery stores to underserved
New York neighborhoods — a
vital step towards reducing
health inequities that were
further highlighted by the
pandemic.
In partnership with the
City Council, the CPC will
expand the FRESH zoning incentive
to 11 additional lowerincome
community districts
throughout the city, including
Queens. The program currently
applies to Queens Community
District 12 in southeast
Queens; and will expand
to Community Districts 1, 3,
and 4 in western Queens and
Community District 14 in Far
Rockaway.
According to Queens Borough
President Donovan
Richards, food insecurity was
a grave threat even before the
pandemic, and far too many
Queens families live in food
deserts without adequate access
to fresh produce, fruits,
vegetables and other healthy
foods they need.
“My office will continue
to work in close partnership
with the Department of City
Planning to ensure the expansion
of the FRESH program
into historically underserved
communities in northwestern
Queens and Far Rockaway
will, in fact, lead to the
construction of new, sorely
needed supermarkets in these
communities,” Richards said.
Councilman Francisco
Moya, chair of the Subcommittee
on Zoning and Franchises,
said New York City’s
FRESH update will better
position the city to reflect
the needs of New Yorkers and
protect the most vulnerable.
“Increased access to affordable
fresh food is part
of how we prevent diseases
that are especially prevalent
in Black and Latino communities,”
Moya said. “We
also need to ensure that we
are appropriately supporting
businesses that promote
healthier lifestyles. Healthier
communities means we will
be better prepared for the
future to combat a pandemic
like COVID-19. I look forward
to our continued partnership
with City Planning
in getting this update and
expansion to the finish line.”
The proposal is an investment
in the health of New
York’s communities. The lack
of quality food options has
a long-term impact on the
health of New Yorkers, such
as underlying health conditions
and shorter life expectancy.
As the city recovers
from the COVID-19 pandemic,
the FRESH update will create
more opportunities for
healthy, accessible food for
New Yorkers than ever before
and lessen health disparities,
particularly in underserved
neighborhoods.
Additionally, each new
grocery store that opens is
expected to generate between
30 and 100 jobs.
“We’re New Yorkers; we
love good, healthy, fresh food,
and no New Yorker should
have difficulty finding fresh
food for themselves and their
families,’ said Marisa Lago,
CPC chair. “By expanding and
improving FRESH, we make it
TIMESLEDGER | Q 20 NS.COM | MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
even easier to build and keep
green grocery stores in areas
where low-income families
live – improving their health
and everyday lives.”
Created in 2009, the FRESH
zoning incentive gives property
owners the right to construct
slightly larger buildings
in mixed residential and
commercial districts if they
include a FRESH supermarket.
It also allows grocery
stores as-of-right in light manufacturing
districts, increasing
the locations where they
can be built.
The FRESH update would
add specific rules an applicant
must follow to create a new
FRESH store near an existing
location. Some communities
have seen clustering of FRESH
supermarkets, making it difficult
for them to prosper. These
new criteria would limit the
potential for over-saturation.
For renovations to an existing
building to construct a
FRESH supermarket, building
owners will no longer have
to replace existing walls with
windows – removing a potentially
expensive step in the
process.It will also provide a
waiver from parking requirements
for sites using up to
10,000 square-feet of retail
area in lower density residential
districts.
Rachel Loeb, president and
CEO of the New York City Economic
Development Corporation
(NYCEDC), congratulated
DCP on the start of the process
and is looking forward to expanding
the FRESH incentive
to additional neighborhoods.
“Expanding the FRESH
zoning incentives will increase
the number of grocery stores
offering affordable and healthy
food to those that have historically
lacked access and will be
key to the City’s recovery from
COVID-19,” Loeb said.
Since the program
launched, 27 projects have
been approved for FRESH
zoning incentives, out of
which eight are occupied as of
February 2021.
The FRESH update grew
out of a 2018 DCP analysis,
Photo via Getty Images
which showed that many
neighborhoods remain underserved
by high-quality grocery
stores, emphasizing the
need to expand and bolster the
program. DCP also recently
launched the Supermarket
Needs Index, an interactive
map that informs communities
of nearby grocery stores
and supermarkets – and shows
what neighborhoods remain
underserved.
The launch of the sevenmonth
public review process
starts the clock for FRESH
update. The proposal will go
to all impacted community
boards for the districts listed
for review, followed by the
five Borough Presidents and
Borough Boards. The FRESH
update will then go to the City
Planning Commission for a
public hearing and vote, followed
by the City Council.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
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