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New regulation aims to take a slice out of NYC pizza pollution
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Mar 24, 2024
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Rosemary Misdary
Published Mar 24, 2024
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A new rule that will drastically limit emissions from New York City's coal and wood-fired stoves goes into effect next month, and one councilmember hopes to ease the burden it imposes on pizzerias.
The rule requires restaurants with coal or wood-fired stoves to add a filter system that will reduce their emissions by 75%. It applies to just over 100 eateries across the city, many of which are pizzerias. The filters cost around $20,000. In response, Councilmember Justin Brannan said he’ll introduce legislation to give those restaurateurs a tax credit to install the filters.
“If the goal here is truly to reduce the emissions produced by these old school ovens and not to raise revenue by issuing more fines to our beloved small businesses, then let's help these pizzerias comply instead of setting them up to fail," Brannan said in a statement. "Since only a handful of businesses will be impacted by the new rule, I'm confident we can come up with a solution so nobody gets burned."
A tax credit would also require legislation in Albany.
The pollution is significant even when compared to natural gas, which is more commonly used in commercial kitchens. Burning wood produces two-and-a-half times more carbon emissions than gas, while coal produces about double the emissions of natural gas.
Wood-fired pizzeria owners who spoke to Gothamist were not thrilled with the cost of the filters, but acknowledged their pies cause pollution.
Mathieu Palombino, the owner of Motorino, said he burns a cord of wood every week at just one of his three locations. A cord is equal to roughly 5,000 pounds of wood, and can produce nearly 13,000 pounds of carbon dioxide when burned.
“We're throwing a forest inside these ovens, literally,” Palombino said.
Palombino said he is considering switching to natural gas stoves at two other locations, and added that the cost of switching to gas is about the same as installing the new filters. He said he didn’t taste any difference between gas- and wood-fired pizzas.
“There's the poetry of being wood-fired, but it really doesn't make a difference,” Palombino said.
Research shows that commercial kitchens are a significant source of pollution in New York City. The city’s NYC Community Air Survey found particulate matter, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and black carbon are at elevated levels in areas around the five boroughs with high concentrations of restaurants.
Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, said restaurants are the fastest-growing source of fine particulate matter in the city.
“We know that these [restaurants] are emitting a lot and contributing to the city's pollution,” she said.
New York City pizza historian Scott Wiener said the filter system's cost makes it very unpopular among pizzerias.
“It definitely will be a burden for pizzerias,” said Wiener, who runs Scott’s Pizza Tours.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, agreed.
“The city should provide financial support to assist them with compliance or to find out if they are eligible for a variance,” Rigie said.
Coal and wood-fired pizza restaurant owners have a little more time to buy the filters.
Although the law goes into effect on April 27, the Department of Environmental Protection said it won’t begin issuing fines until 2025.
“All New Yorkers deserve to breathe healthy air, and wood- and coal-fired stoves are among the largest contributors of harmful pollutants in neighborhoods with poor air quality,” wrote DEP spokesperson Ted Timbers.
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new york city
Health and Science
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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