Guest Editorial
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Jail plan threatens
Chinatown food equity
BY VALERIE IMBRUCE
Food is a fundamental human right. And lawmakers in New York City agree
— but will they consider food equity when proposing new development?
Earlier this month, Council Speaker Corey Johnson unveiled a plan to
combat food inequity in New York City. Consequently, Councilmember Margaret
Chin introduced legislation to develop a plan to combat food insecurity for seniors
in New York City, asserting that “food justice is for everyone.”
The food industry cluster in Chinatown — the restaurants, retail markets, supply
shops and food manufacturers — provide up to one-quarter of all jobs in Chinatown.
It is a cultural and economic jewel worth preserving.
I urge the City Council to consider the effect of any new development on a community’s
food environment. This issue should be folded into the Uniform Land
Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process. The most pressing case we are currently
facing in Chinatown is Mayor de Blasio’s borough-based jails proposal, which is
headed to a fi nal vote by the New York City Council, where Councilmember Chin,
who represents Chinatown, holds the pivotal vote. The mayor’s $11-billion taxpayer
funded plan to close Rikers Island includes building a 490-foot-tall detention
center in the heart of Chinatown, an undertaking that will take roughly 10 years.
The 40-plus grocers in Chinatown work on a micro basis. They buy from wholesale
distributors that reside near Chinatown, and the distributors purchase from
small- to medium-sized, often immigrant-run farms that grow Asian vegetables
and fruits along the East Coast, as well as from farmers in Mexico and Honduras.
The proximity between wholesalers and retailers means the retailers can bypass
expensive and timely trucking and do so without outstanding investments in onsite
storage, in turn avoiding large overhead costs. That’s why the produce is in
Chinatown so cheap. And so fresh.
We need Johnson and Chin’s help to save Chinatown’s food system, one of the
city’s historically richest, most vibrant food hubs, from this jail plan’s impacts.
Imbruce is an economic botanist and director of external scholarships, fellowships
and awards at SUNY Binghamton’s Environmental Studies Department.
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12 September 12, 2019 TVG Schneps Media
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