| Jurisdiction Name: | New York |
| State/Province: | NY |
| Country: | United States |
| Type of Government: | Municipality |
| Population: | 8,175,133 |
| Population Range: | 1 million or more |
| Policy Links: | Web – PDF |
| Policy type: | program |
| Year: | 2009 |
| GFC Topic: | community food connections, community food security |
| Keywords: | food access, food affordability, food retail, grocery store, healthy food access, healthy food retail, incentive program, land use, neighborhood, residential zone, tax exemption, underserved, urban, zoning |
| Adopting Government Department(s): | New York City Council |
| Lead Implementing Entity(s): | New York City Industrial Development Agency; New York City Department of City Planning |
| Support Entity(s): | Department of Mental Health and Hygiene; Mayor's Office of Food Policy; New York City Economic Development Corporation |
| Funding Amount: | Unknown |
| Funding Sources: | New York State Department of Health’s Healthy Eating and Active Living by Design (HEALD) with support from NYCEDC, DCP, DOHMH, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. |
| Policy Outcome(s): | This program was designed to establish and maintain grocery stores in underserved areas of New York City in order to decrease disparities in accessing healthy, fresh, and affordable food. To do so, the program targeted barriers that organizations may face when entering underserved markets of New York City, such as regulatory barriers, risk aversion, and start-up costs. To decrease these barriers and increase the likelihood of business establishment, the FRESH program offers financial and zoning incentives. Financially, businesses may benefit from decreased land and building taxes, sales tax exemptions, and mortgage recording tax deferrals. Zoning incentives include additional development rights (one square foot of floor area in mixed residential/commercial zone for every one square foot provided for a grocery store), reduction in require parking, and larger as-of-right stores in light manufacturing areas. As of 2015, evaluations of the program have stated that FRESH has been successful in increasing food retail options in underserved neighborhoods across the city. |
| Additional Resources and Information: | Link 1 – Link 2 |
