Photo: A recent poll revealed that 63 percent of adult city residents oppose a 10-cent plastic bag fee. Forum Photo by Eugenie Bisulco.
A new poll conducted over the phone found that 63 percent of adult New York residents oppose a bill proposed in the City Council which would place a 10-cent fee on all disposable plastic and paper bags in convenience stores, supermarkets and other establishments.
According to Marist Poll, which produced the survey along with NBC4 New York and The Wall Street Journal, “Regardless of race or class status, at least a majority opposes charging for plastic bags in grocery stores.”
The bill, which has been before the council since last fall, has not moved much. Proponents have said that it is not a ban on bags, but an initiative aimed at decreasing use. According to published reports, the additional revenue collected from the fee would go to the storeowners.
Opponents, such as City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), have characterized the surcharge as a “backdoor tax” on shoppers.
“I’m not voting for this,” he said in October. “That’s not how you change behavior. You’re nickel and diming people, literally.”
The poll, Ulrich said this week, “confirms what I’ve been hearing from my constituents, small business owners and other New Yorkers for months. Local residents already pay enough in high taxes, utilities, and skyrocketing water and sewer rates. Enacting additional taxes, fines and fees simply doesn’t make any sense.”
Bertha Lewis, president of the Black Institute, a public policy think tank, echoed Ulrich’s sentiment on the issue.
“The poll shows that families struggling to get by can’t afford another poverty tax—particularly in communities of color,” she said.
Instead of a fee, Ulrich has proposed that anyone who brings a reusable, cloth shopping bag to use at a store should actually be given a 10-cent discount.
“We should incentivize,” he said at the October meeting of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic, before adding that he viewed the bill as “a waste of our time.”
According to a March 25 Capital NY report, Mayor Bill de Blasio said his administration is “still evaluating if the proposal that’s been put forward is both effective and fair…”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
