Courtesy of NYCEDC
The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health program will be expanding to serve a total of five Queens community districts.
By Forum Staff
The City Planning Commission recently announced the start of 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.
According to CPC Chairwoman Marisa Lago, 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, especially in underserved neighborhoods. In addition, each new grocery store that opens is expected to generate between 30 and 100 jobs.
Created in 2009, this 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. In partnership with the City Council, the Department of City Planning will expand the FRESH zoning incentive to 11 additional lower-income Community Districts throughout the City, including Staten Island for the first time, on top of the 19 districts where it already applies.
The FRESH program currently applies to:
- Queens Community District 12
- Bronx Community Districts 1 through 7
- Brooklyn Community Districts 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16 and 17
- Manhattan Community Districts 9 through 12
With this update, the program will expand to:
- Queens Community Districts 1, 3, 4 and 14
- Bronx Community Districts 8 and 9
- Brooklyn Community Districts 1, 2, 12 and 13
- Staten Island Community District 1
According to the City, the FRESH update would also:
- 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 oversaturation.
- 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.
- Provide a waiver from parking requirements for sites using up to 10,000 square feet of retail area in lower density residential districts
Since the program launched, 27 projects have been approved for FRESH zoning incentives, out of which eight are occupied as of February 2021.
Lago noted that the FRESH update grew out of a 2018 DCP analysis, 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 seven-month public review process starts the clock for FRESH update. The proposal will go to all impacted community boards for the districts listed above 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.
