The FRESH Program and Community Boards

by Kristin Pederson 

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH ) on September 23, 2009. By doing so, the way was cleared for the City Council to vote on the program, which it must do by November 24th.

Before the City Planning Commission could make its decision, the proposal was reviewed in several venues. Since May 18th community boards, borough boards, and the borough presidents have had the opportunity to comment. Additionally, there was a public hearing on August 5th.

Community boards in particular, within such workings of local government, are the topic of the October FSNYC Open Networking meeting. Each borough is divided into community boards, each consisting of 50 members and staffed by a district manager. Throughout the City there are 59 boards, who are given an advisory role in land use and zoning changes, the City budget, municipal service delivery, and other matters of community importance. In fact, any issue that can arise within the community is supposed to be covered by one of the sub-committees of the board.

Board members are appointed by borough presidents, with the advice of City Council members from the board area. They are limited to roles of advocacy and coordination, but are held to represent the best interest of their communities.

Overall, the review process for the FRESH proposal led to four significant changes in the text, including one to involve community boards in the decisions on FRESH food store applications. Now all applicants seeking to be certified as FRESH food stores must submit a copy of their application drawings to the Community Board in the area in which they would like to locate. The application cannot be certified before they have a 45-day period to review it, unless the Board returns its comments before that. This means community boards now have more opportunity than every before to help bring healthy food into their communities.