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City: Rockaways, Jamaica Veggie Starved
By Liz Skalka
Queens will receive 250 permits for special “green carts” to operate at locations around the borough where consumption of fruits and vegetables is low.
The Green Cart Legislation is a citywide campaign to bring these foods to neighborhoods where at least 12 percent of adults reported to the Health Department they did not eat any fruits or vegetables the previous day.
The permits will be phased in over the next two years. The Bronx and Brooklyn will each receive 500 permits, Manhattan will receive 200 and Staten Island will receive 50.
Green carts in Queens will be located in the 100, 101, 103, 105 and 113 police precincts, which encompass parts of the Rockaways and Jamaica. The Health Department hopes to have some carts on the streets by the end of summer.
Residents in the Queens neighborhoods that will eventually receive the green carts questioned their usefulness, however.
Owen, a Rosedale resident, said enough fresh produce is sold in supermarkets near the neighborhood and if shoppers want fruits and vegetables they can just go to their local supermarket chain.
“You need more people to come and buy it,” he said, “not more carts.”
Another Rosedale resident agreed that Rosedale and surrounding areas have enough supermarkets to service the neighborhood.
“Don’t the stores have enough fruits and vegetables?” he said. “I’d rather go to the store and buy it there.”
Another Health Department study found that supermarkets are 30 percent less common in Harlem than in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It also showed that only 3 percent of bodegas in Harlem carry leafy green vegetables compared to 20 percent on the Upper East Side.
“Access to healthy foods varies widely throughout New York City, and in many lower-income neighborhood, supermarkets are few and far between,” said Mayor Mike Bloomberg. “There is demand for fruits and vegetables in these neighborhoods, and this regulatory change will enable the market to meet that demand.”
Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn also announced a partnership with The Food Trust and the Food Bank for New York City that involves encouraging supermarkets to locate in neighborhoods that need better access to healthy foods.
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