Pie-loving Brooklynite Paul says Big Apple pizzerias and other businesses that use coal or wood-fired ovens should be given dough in the form of tax breaks to comply with new emissions regulations. .
Adams administration’s controversial Congress – take effect April 27 – Some restaurants have already spent tens of thousands of dollars installing filtration systems to reduce pollutants like smoke by 75% of duty.
Without financial aid, some of the city’s beloved and famous pizza joints could go out of business, or at the very least cause the price of the Big Apple pie, already the most expensive in the country, to soar.
“I’ve always believed that when it comes to our environment, we should encourage and support rather than be quick to punish,” Councilman Justin Brannan, chairman of the finance committee, told the Post on Monday. Told.
Brannan, whose district includes slice-loving Bay Ridge and Coney Island, is proposing tax breaks for an estimated 130 city pizzerias, matzah makers and other businesses affected by the new anti-pollution rules.
“If the goal here is truly to reduce the emissions produced by these old-fashioned ovens, and not to increase revenue by imposing more fines on our beloved small businesses, then these Let’s help these pizzerias comply, not put them out of business,” Brannan said. .
Police said they are “confident we can find a solution where no one gets burned.”
“To that end, I have been working with Albany on legislation that would create a tax credit to help affected businesses purchase and install the necessary smoke evacuation systems.”
Brannan said he is still working out the details and has not yet calculated what the tax credits and credits for dough flippers and bakers will look like, or how much it will cost the city and the state treasury. said.
But he said it wouldn’t go bankrupt.
The councilman said he is fielding calls from concerned business owners in the district.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is implementing a 2015 law approved by the City Council and his predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, that requires polluting coal- and wood-fired pizza restaurants to emit unhealthy particulate matter. It requires the government to significantly reduce It causes asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
“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,” the City Department of Environmental Protection said. Edward Timbers, a spokesman for the company, told the Sunday Post. .
But New York pizza lovers say the rule stinks.
“Pizza is the lifeblood of this city. We must protect it at all costs. Ban private jets and commuter helicopters, then come back and talk to me about this,” Luke said. Failla said in recent online comments to the City DEP.
