New York City has quietly approved a controversial environmental plan that would require pizzerias and matzo bakeries using decades-old wood and coal stoves to reduce smoke pollutants by 75%.
Mayor Eric Adams’ Office of Environmental Protection said: new edict The ordinance goes into effect April 27, and some city businesses have already spent more than $600,000 on new smoke systems in anticipation of the expected mandate.
“Going out for pizza? Great New York pizza?” Mike Davin fumed in a recent online comment to the city DEP. “Can’t we just go after a diesel truck instead of a pizza oven?”
Businesses using wood-burning and anthracite stoves can apply for variances, but will need evidence to prove they are unable to comply with their obligations.
Last summer, when the Post first reported on the proposed rules, pizza lovers and some entrepreneurs were furious, saying the dough required to comply with the rules could put popular establishments out of business, or at the very least I was concerned that it would affect the taste of the mozzarella cheese slices.
But Mr. Adams defended the mission of the Big Apple, which was recently named the most expensive city in the country to buy a pizza.
“The scientific evidence is clear that reducing particulate emissions can improve the health of New Yorkers and reduce hospital visits and costs, without changing the great taste of New York pizza,” said DEP representative Edward. Timbers made the claim in an emailed statement to the Post. Sunday.
The city says about 130 major Apple companies will be affected by the new rules.
DEP received 155 Online comments about The plan was approved before it was approved and was opposed by most people.
“This is a gross overreach by state and local governments and places an undue burden on small businesses that have already endured tremendous hardship over the past three years,” Mark Hellman said.
“If governments want to improve air quality and force companies to do so, they should provide the equipment for free, rather than putting the burden on companies themselves. Many improvements are desperately needed. This is by no means a priority in a city where the city is
Joan Barrons added: “Decommission old coal oven facilities without requiring them to install scrubbers.
“This rule is a joke,” Barrons said. “Don’t punish small businesses and pizza lovers!”
Some pie turners who make pizza using traditional baking methods have already paid extra costs to install the required new air filtration systems (known as flue exhaust) to comply with the upcoming legislation. Some people said that they had introduced .
Grimaldi’s Pizza, which operates coal-brick restaurants in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, has installed or is in the process of installing smoke-eating systems at all three locations, co-owner Anthony Piscina said.
Grimaldi’s in Manhattan’s Limelight has installed a filtration system for 55% due to the added cost of protecting the integrity of the historic Gothic building, which was a church before becoming a nightclub, Piscina said. It is said to cost $1,000.
“We have to do it. There’s no other way to make pizza,” Piscina said.
To properly cook the slices, he says, the oven needs to reach a temperature of 1,200 degrees, which only coal-fired ovens can do.
The popular Paulie Gee’s Pizza in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which uses wood-fired ovens, would be required to reduce exhaust emissions to reduce smoke, although the proposed rules were first discussed and later postponed before the coronavirus pandemic hit. system was installed.
“It’s a big deal. We did what we had to do. It’s better than closing,” Paulie Gee’s owner Paul Giannone said while celebrating 14 years in business.
It cost $20,000 in fabric to follow.
Giannone said neighbors had complained about smoke coming from the pizza shop.
He said that while there are benefits to reducing smoky emissions and enhancing public health, the additional costs make opening more difficult for pizzerias that prefer traditional baking methods. He said it was becoming difficult. Most other pie joints use gas-powered ovens.
“I don’t see too many people opening wood-fired or charcoal-fired pizzerias. The expenses are too high,” Giannone said.
John’s on Bleecker Street, one of the oldest coal-fired pizzerias in the country, spent more than $100,000 installing a smoke abatement system.
“We were told we had no choice. Without the oven, we wouldn’t have a job,” said manager Joey Schirripa. “We understand the direction cities are going. We want to be environmentally friendly.”
Schirrippa said the business’ infiltration system, which snakes up to six floors through the chimney, has not affected the taste of its famous coal-charred pies.
Alter Eckstein, manager of Satmar Broadway Matzah Bakery, said his store has already spent more than $600,000 on filtering systems in preparation for the new rules.
But he said money is not the only driver of change.
“This is a religious tradition. … This is how we’ve baked bread for the past thousands of years, and we don’t want to change anything,” he told the Post over the summer.
This rule applies to ovens installed before May 2016.
The new rule implements a law approved by the City Council and then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2015 that would negatively impact polluting coal- and wood-fired pizzerias, according to the DEP. This would require significant reductions in emissions of particulate matter, which are known to be unhealthy. Asthma and other respiratory diseases.
The department said it consulted with an advisory committee of restaurant operators to develop the rules.
The mandate requires restaurants that use coal or wood-burning stoves to install emissions control systems to reduce air pollutants by 75%.
If a pie maker or bakery is unable to reduce emissions, the owner must submit an assessment explaining why the restaurant cannot reduce emissions and apply for a variance to be exempt from the rule.
