New York GOP Urges Mayor Adams Not to Adopt Wood-Fired Oven Rule

A pizzeria chef removes one of the freshly baked pizzas from a wood-fired oven at the Jemapoh Pizza Kayu Api restaurant in Jemapoh, in Malaysia's Negeri Sembilan state, on Nov. 5, 2020. Mohd Rasfan/AFP via Getty Images

Republican New York lawmakers are urging Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams to back down on a plan to more heavily regulate emissions from wood and coal-fired ovens amid fears it could disrupt the city’s popular pizzeria scene.

Late last month, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection proposed a rule (pdf) that would require eateries using wood and coal-fired ovens to cut their carbon emissions by up to 75 percent. If an assessment concludes that a reduction of 75 percent of particulate matter or more is not possible or that no emissions controls can be installed, the assessment must then identify any emission controls that can provide a reduction of at least 25 percent or justify why no emission controls can be installed.

Reps. Mike Lawler, Elise Stefanik, Marcus Molinaro, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino and Anthony D’Esposito sent a letter (pdf) to Mr. Adams on Wednesday, urging him to reconsider implementing the rule.

“While we are committed to protecting the environment and ensuring the well-being of residents, this proposed rule poses significant challenges and the potential for negative consequences,” the six Republican lawmakers wrote. “Imposing these requirements on small businesses, particularly those that rely on traditional coal- and woodburning ovens, will prove to be detrimental.”

Wood and coal-fired ovens have been a fixture in many of New York City’s popular pizzerias.

“We urge you to reconsider the proposed rule requiring pizzerias using coal- and wood-burning ovens to hire an engineer or architect to assess the feasibility of emission control devices,” the Republican lawmakers continued. “We must take a balanced approach that considers the financial implications on small businesses, and the potential impact on the taste and quality of pizza that all New Yorkers and tourists love and cherish while keeping in mind the broader environmental context.”

The New York City mayor addressed questions about the proposed emissions rule during a June 26 press conference. Mr. Adams said, “Everyone likes pizza” and “I think pizzas have saved more marriages than any other foods,” before insisting he didn’t want to see businesses negatively impacted by the rule.

“Right now, we are at the public moment where the public can weigh in. Let the public weigh in, let the public give their thoughts, and then we'll make the final determination,” Mr. Adams added. “We don’t want to hurt businesses in the city, and we don’t want to hurt the environment.”

During that same June 26 press conference, one reporter asserted that the new emission rules would only apply to about 100 restaurants and asked Mr. Adams whether the rule would bring about enough emissions controls to be worth it. In their Wednesday letter, the six Republican lawmakers similarly argued that regulating wood and coal-fired ovens in the city would have a relatively small impact on the city’s air quality.

“We must also consider the relatively minute impact of pizzerias on overall air quality compared to other industrial and transportation sectors,” the Republican lawmakers wrote. “Singling out these small businesses while larger polluters remain unaddressed, will not yield the same emissions reduction as other measures could.”

Thus far, the mayor has argued that the city should seek to reduce every source of air pollution it can, regardless of its overall contributions.

“Let’s be clear. Every toxic entity that we remove from our air is adding up to the overall desire to deal with shrinking our carbon footprint,” Mr. Adams stated during the June 26 press conference. “And as I stated, let’s let the public weigh in, and then we could have a conversation if we’re going to move forward or not.”

From NTD News