red tape, green vegetables: a plan to improve new york city’s regulationsfor community-based...

8/3/2019 Red Tape, Green Vegetables: A Plan to Improve New York Citys Regulationsfor Community-Based Farmers Markets

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A Plan to Improve New York Citys Regulations

for Community-Based Farmers Markets

April 2011

RED TAPE,GREEN VEGETABLES:


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Borough President Stringer would like to thank Food and Economic Development Policy AnalystShira Gans, who was the primary researcher and writer o this report. He is also grateul to Nadia

Johnson, Food Justice Program & City Farms Market Network Coordinator at Just Food, whorst ocused the oces attention on the challenges acing community-based armers markets and

provided support throughout the writing o this report.

Te content o this report could not have been developed without the input and passion o the marketoperators who took time to share their experiences with our oce. Te Borough President wouldparticularly like to thank Maritza Owens o Harvest Home Farmers Market Inc., Sonya Simmonso Grassroots Farmers Market, ravis ench o Bushwick Farmers Market, and Karen Washington oLa Familia Verde. Similarly, the Borough President would like to thank the dedicated public servantsat the New York City Department o Parks and Recreation, the Street Activity Permit Oce, theDepartment o ransportation, the New York State Department o Agriculture and Markets, and theFarmers Market Federation o New York who diligently assisted our oce in understanding theiragencies roles in permitting and supporting community-based armers markets citywide.

Te Borough President also recognizes the contributions made to this report by his sta: RosemondePierre-Louis (Deputy Borough President), Stephen Corson (Deputy Director o Policy), DavidSaltonstall (Director o Policy and Research), Alaina Gilligo (Chie o Sta), Cuong Nguyen (DeputyChie o Sta), Caesar-Robert Alano (Graphic Artist), Brian Cook (Director o Land Use, Planning& Development), Jennier Hong (Deputy Director o Land Use, Planning & Development), and

Jessica Silver (Director o Community Aairs).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


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New York City is aced with a health crisis: 700,000 New Yorkers have diabetes and over 3.1 millionresidents are obese or overweight, as are 43 percent o elementary school students.1 Numerous studieshave shown the link between positive health outcomes and consumption o resh ruits and vegetables,but disturbingly, 37 percent o New Yorkers live in areas without adequate access to healthy ood.2

Residents need aordable ways to introduce more ruits and vegetables into their diets.

Community-based armers markets are created by community members to address the lack o healthyand aordable ood at the neighborhood-level and are tightly connected to community developmenteorts. Tese markets represent a critical pipeline or bringing resh ruit and vegetables into some othe Citys most under-served neighborhoods. However, too oten that pipeline is clogged by bureau-cratic red tape, creating a negative regulatory ramework that runs counter to the Citys larger goals oimproving public health and access to resh oods.

Indeed, a market operator who hopes to open in one o these high-need neighborhoods can expect topay up to $1,660 annually in city permitting ees just or the right to sell a reshly-grown head o let-

tuce to the New Yorkers who need it most. Tis is more than 22 times the cost o a two-year operatingpermit or a Green Cart (mobile produce carts that are part o a Mayoral initiative intended to improveaccess to healthy ood in targeted, high-need neighborhoods). Further, in some cases, operators mustalso apply or permits in the preceding calendar year, months beore opening.

Tis report explores the vital role these community-based armers markets play in the citys ood system,as well as the steep challenges they ace as a result o City policies and procedures. As part o the study,the Oce o the Manhattan Borough President surveyed all o the citys community-based market op-erators and received responses rom 64 percent o the market operators. Te respondents manage 74percent o the Citys community-based markets.

An investigation o the operating environment or community-based armers markets in New YorkCity revealed:

Red ape: Te permitting process or markets is decentralized, inconsistent, conusing andexpensive. In some cases, a market starting in July would have to apply or permits a ull sevenmonths in advance.

High Cost o Entry: Permit ees are based on the number o days a market will operate or anentire season. Te cost o the entire season must be paid upront, with a single permit otenexceeding $800. When combined with required insurance coverage, a market operator, in

many cases, must pay over $1,300 beore the market season begins in order to obtain a permit.Tis can be a heavy nancial toll or small market operators with limited resources or whomrunning markets is oten not their primary job.

Lack o Operational Procedures or Parking:Because traveling to the city or market days isexpensive or armers, ree parking is critical to the success o a market. However, the Depart-ment o ransportation has no ocial operating procedure or requesting signage or issuingplacards to reserve parking on market days. Some markets reported waiting years to receivereserved parking signage. Others reported inconsistent enorcement by New York rac Po-

1 Going to Market: New York Citys Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage

New York City, Department of City Planning, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC Economic Development Corp.2 Going to Market: New York Citys Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


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lice. Authorized armers vehicles were oten ticketed while other, unauthorized vehicles wereallowed to park ticket-ree.

Within the ve boroughs, there are 28 dierent operators o community-based armers markets, run-ning a total o 60 markets. Seventy-three percent o these markets operate in low-income areas asdened by the Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Between 2009 and

2010, low-income residents redeemed almost hal a million dollars in government nutrition coupons atthese markets.

Despite limited resources, community-based market operators persist because they are passionate advo-cates or the health o their communities. Tese operators are tackling the same problems that manyCity ocials are trying to address, but they are doing it with on-the-ground knowledge o the most in-need neighborhoods at no cost to the City. Te passion and dedication o community-based armersmarket operators is a resource that New York City government should be actively promoting. Unor-tunately, rather than supporting these community revitalizing endeavors, the City creates a conusing,expensive, decentralized and time-consuming process or establishing and maintaining armers markets.

New York City should support existing community-based armers markets and promote the establish-ment o new ones. Te City needs to cut red tape, streamline permitting processes, establish clearprocedures where current systems are ad hoc, and align ees with the policy goal o increasing access toresh ruits and vegetables in underserved communities.

Specically, in order to improve the operating environment or community-based armers markets, theCity should:

1. Eliminate Daily Permit Fees or Markets in Low-Income Areas

2. Simpliy and Clariy the Process Assign oversight of farmers markets to a single City entity Create a uniform application process Create a guide to operating a farmers market

3. Create Standard Procedures or Farmers Market Parking Department of Transportation must create a clear policy for requesting signage Appropriate agencies must develop farmers market parking placards NYPD trac ocers must be trained regarding enforcement for farmers market parking

4. Create Inormation and Outreach Campaign About Using Federal and State

Nutrition Supports at Farmers Markets

5. Increase Access to Urban Land or Farming Assess land availability and suitability for urban agriculture Create a citywide urban agriculture program Ensure the permanence of community gardens

6. Increase Access to Commercial Kitchen Space Explore use of City-owned kitchens Create online portal of available kitchen space


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I. INRODUCION

A. Community-Based Farmers Markets

B. Te Current Approach

i. FRESH

ii. Green Carts

C. Community-Based Farmers Markets as a Resource

II. HE CHALLENGES

A. Permits

i. New York City Department o Parks and Recreation

1. Farmers Markets in Higher-Income Areas

2. Farmers Markets in Lower-Income Areas

3. Farmers Markets in GreenTumb Community Gardens

ii. Mayors Street Activities Permit Oce (SAPO)

B. Parking

i. Reserving Parking Spaces: Department o ransportation

ii. Enorcement: New York rac Police

C. Other Operational Challenges

i. Access to Commercial Kitchen Space

ii. Access to Land or Urban Farming

III. BES PRACICE: SEALE

IV. RECOMMENDAIONS

V. MEHODOLOGY

VI. CONCLUSION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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New York City is aced with a health crisis:700,000 New Yorkers have diabetes and over 3.1million residents are obese or overweight, as are43 percent o elementary school students. Onerecent national survey ranked the South Bronxas having the worst hunger problems in the na-tion.3 Numerous studies have shown the linkbetween positive health outcomes and consump-tion o resh ruits and vegetables. Yet disturb-ingly, 37 percent o New Yorkers lack the nec-essary resources within their neighborhoods toimprove their diets; approximately three millionNew Yorkers live in areas without adequate ac-cess to healthy ood, or ooddeserts.4 Residents need a-

ordable ways to introducemore ruits and vegetablesinto their diets.

A. Community-Based Farm-ers MarketsCommunity-based armersmarkets are working to ad-dress the shortage o healthyoods by bringing resh, lo-

cal produce to New Yorksneediest neighborhoods. JustFood, a New York City basednon-prot organization work-ing on ood justice issues since 1995, denes acommunity-based market as one that exist(s)or and because o the community in which itis located and is the result o a communitys re-sponse to a lack o resh, aordable, local oodin their neighborhoods. Tese armers marketsare run by community groups to inspire better

health, pride, and a sense o neighborly unitywhile encouraging community development andempowerment.5

Within the ve boroughs, there are 28 dierentoperators o community-based armers markets,running a total o 58 markets. Seventy-threepercent o these markets operate in low-incomeareas as dened by the Federal Community De-

velopment Block Grant (CDBG) Program.Data suggests that these markets are successullyreaching the Citys most vulnerable populations.By looking at data released by government nutri-tion programs such as Women Inant and Chil-dren (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition AssistanceProgram (SNAP - ormerly Food Stamps), Farm-ers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), andHealth Bucks it is possible to see the volume oproduce purchased at community-based armersmarkets by program participants (or more inor-mation on these program, see the text box in thesection Operating a Community Based Farmers

Market). In 2009 and 2010combined, SNAP participants

spent at least $300,000 inbenets at community-basedarmers markets in New YorkCity. Further, in 2010, SNAPparticipants who shopped atthese markets received andspent an extra $135,579 inHealth Bucks coupons, a Cityprogram that oers incentivesor using SNAP benets at

armers markets.

6

State-level data also points toarmers markets being an e-

ective delivery method o resh ruits and veg-etables or low-income communities. In 2010,

WIC recipients and seniors redeemed roughly$5.3 million worth o FMNP coupons state-

wide.7

Unortunately, despite evidence proving their

ecacy, these markets have been largely over-looked as a tool in the ght against ood desertsand diet-related illnesses.

Te market eeds the neighbor-hoods and the amilies. Whenyoure growing ood, youre not only growing ood, youre growing peo-ple. Sometimes people come to themarket or the conversation andsometimes or the education. A loto kids in the city dont know wherethe ood comes rom. Tey think it

comes rom a super market.

- Bobby Watson, Market Manager,

aqwa Community Farm, Bronx

3 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/nyregion/14hunger.html

4 Going to Market: New York Citys Neighborhood Grocery Store

and Supermarket Shortage

5 The City Farms Market Guide, Just Food, p.11

6 Data from Farmers Markets Federation of New York

7 Data from NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets on 2010

FMNP usage

I. INTRODUCTION


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Farmers Market

Census Tracts (2000)

CDBG Eligible

CDBG Ineligible

Sources: Farmers Market Data: NYS Department of Agriculture and MarketsCDBG Census Tract Data: NYC DCP 2000 Census Tracts, Version 10C, October 2010

Community-based Farmers MarketsBrooklyn

Community-based Farmers MarketsManhattan

Farmers Market


CDBG Eligible

CDBG Ineligible


Farmers Market


CDBG Eligible

CDBG Ineligible


Community-based Farmers MarketsQueens

For a list of market names and addresses see Appendix A

Farmers Market


CDBG Eligible

CDBG Ineligible


Community-based Farmers MarketsThe Bronx

Locations of Community Based Farmers Markets by Borough

2


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B. Te Current Approach While the City has undertaken several laud-able policy initiatives in recent years to expandhealthy ood options in low-income neighbor-hoods, results have been mixed. wo key Cityinitiatives that merit discussion are FRESH and

Green Carts.

i. FRESHo date, a cornerstone o the Citys eort hasbeen the Food Retail Expansion to SupportHealth program, or FRESH. Tis program seeksto draw grocery stores to low-income neighbor-hoods by oering incentives to developers onew projects or building expansions. I a ull-line grocery store is included in a projects scope,developers can receive both nancial and zoning

benets.8

Increasing the number o grocery stores in ooddeserts is important. However, the strategy em-ployed by FRESH has risks. It is highly depen-dant on real estate market uctuations. Withoutcapital or new projects, there is no avenue orincreasing access to resh ruits and vegetables.Tis limitation was made apparent in the mostrecent economic downturn. Since 2008, as a

result o FRESH, only threegrocery stores are currently un-der construction and two moreare awaiting nal nancing ap-proval.9

ii. Green CartsTe Green Cart program is an-other initiative intended to im-prove access to healthy ood.Local Law 9, signed by Mayor

Bloomberg on March 13, 2008,created 1,000 permits or mobile produce carts,otherwise known as Green Carts. Te GreenCarts are allowed to operate only in certain low-income, high-need neighborhoods. For example,in Manhattan, the carts are restricted to above96th Street. As o March 2011, the Departmento Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) hasissued only 450 o the available permits. Te eeor a two-year permit is $75.10

Despite these geographic designations, it is un-clear whether Green Carts have been eectivein bringing produce to underserved areas. TeKorean-American Small Business Center hasvoiced opposition to the program, claiming that

rather than locating in underserved areas, GreenCarts locate next to small green grocers to siphoncustomers. Because Green Carts have minimaloverhead costs as compared to brick and mortarstores, they are able to sell at cheaper prices.11

According to these critics, rather than bringingresh produce to neighborhoods without accessto healthy ood as intended, the program pitsmobile vendors against small business owners.

C. Community-Based Farmers Markets as a

ResourceCommunity-based armers markets representanother strategy or increasing access to reshruits and vegetables in underserved areas. Tesemarkets are tailored to the needs o individu-al neighborhoods because they are developedby the community, or the community. Teyare born out o a hyper-local drive to improveneighborhood conditions, and unlike FRESHand Green Carts, these markets are predicated

on community buy-in. Teyare started by communitymembers and almost alwaysbegin by securing CommunityBoard support.

Community-based armersmarkets ace many challengesoperating in high-need neigh-borhoods with minimal re-sources. Despite the dicult

environment in which they op-erate, community-based market operators per-sist because they are passionate advocates or thehealth o their communities. Te City should

We noticed that there was aneed within the community.Tere was a lack o close access togrocery stores. Also, we elt it waspart o our mission to bring thataspect o history alive and makeit relevant.

-Market Operator, Bronx

8 For more information on the FRESH program visit http://www.

nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/fresh/index.shtml

9 Email correspondence with NYC Economic Development Corpo-

ration, March 24, 2011

10 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487044258045762

20692726202066.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

11 http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/03/27/2011-03-27_

going_bananas.html; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405

2748704425804576220692726202066.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


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be harnessing their dedication and energy: theseoperators are tackling the same problems thatmany City ocials are trying to address, butthey are doing it with on-the-ground knowl-edge o the most in-need neighborhoods at nocost to the City.

As such, the Cityshould support exist-ing community-basedarmers markets andpromote the establish-ment o new ones.Such a shit wouldrequire local govern-ment to cut red tape,streamline permitting

processes, establish pol-icies and procedures where current systems aread hoc, and align ees with the policy goal oincreasing access to resh ruits and vegetablesin underserved communities. o that end, thisreport will:

Outline the decentralized, confusing, andexpensive permitting process currently inplace

Highlight some of the operational chal-lenges community-based armers marketsace

Share the experiences of community-basedarmers market operators and

Recommend avenues for improving thestatus quo and leveraging community-based armers markets as a tool in the e-ort to improve the health and nutrition oall New York City residents.

In order to deepen our understanding o therole these markets play in the ood system and

o the challenges they ace operating in NewYork City, the Oce o the Manhattan BoroughPresident reached out to community-based mar-ket operators citywide. An online questionnaire

was designed and distributed to all operators.12

Interviews with mar-

ket operators were alsoconducted. Operatorsrepresenting 43 individ-ual markets or 74 per-cent o all community-based markets citywide responded. Whatemerged was a picture ooperating environmentsthat are extremely chal-lenging and costly or

operators with limitedresources. [See Section VI or details on meth-odology]

Te market operators that responded to the ques-tionnaire or were interviewed provided a venueor over 120 armers (92 rural and approximately30 urban) to sell their ruits and vegetables andrepresented a collective 110 years o experiencerunning markets. In addition to supporting

scores o arm-related and market-stand jobs,they directly employed some 60 people and ben-eted rom the help o over 65 dedicated vol-unteers. Teir rst-hand experiences are high-lighted throughout the report.

Sometimes we would go to the Housing Projectswith our market t-shirts on and invite the peopleto use their FMNP coupons at our market. It madethe recipients comortable with us and when theyvisited the market they elt no stigma associatedwith using the coupons. It helped us get more tra-c and it helped the armers.

- Sonya Simmons, Grassroots Farmers Market, Mar-

ket Manager, Hamilton Heights Manhattan

12 Markets connected to GrowNYC, the operator of the New York

City Greenmarket program, were not included in the ques

-tionnaire. GrowNYC has a contract with the City of New York

to operate farmers markets across the ve boroughs. Examples

of these popular markets include those at Union Square Park,

W. 77th Street in Manhattan, Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn,

and Jackson Heights in Queens. This contract with GrowNYC

establishes a set of distinct operating procedures. As such,

GrowNYC does not face the same set of regulatory challenges

faced by community-based farmers markets.

4


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Markets operating in underserved communitiesace many unique challenges. Recruiting arm-ers is a challenge that all armers markets ace.For community-based markets in low-incomeareas, this is compounded as many armers will-ing to travel to the city may seek better returns atmarkets in more afuent neighborhoods. Com-munity-based armers markets operating in highpoverty areas oten have to grapple with issueso crime and public saety. Finally, many haveto work hard to build a customer base throughoutreach and education. Residents in these com-munities may not always be aware that there aregovernment programs that oer a considerablediscount or shopping at armers markets. Edu-

cating customers, and sometimes armers, abouthow to leverage these programs (see text box be-low) is oten time intensive.

Unortunately, the above hurdles are not the onlyones community-based markets ace. Tey alsoace numerous challenges created by the City oNew York. Rather than supporting these com-munity revitalizing endeavors, the City creates aconusing, expensive and time-consuming pro-cess or establishing armers markets. Te hur-dles all into two broad categories: permits andparking.

A. Permits

No where is the needless red tape more evidentthan in the permitting process or community-based armers markets a process that orces resi-dents to navigate layers o bureaucracy and dis-tinguish the domains o multiple City agencies.

I the market is going to be in or adjacent toparkland, the operator will require permits romthe New York City Department o Parks andRecreation. I the market is on a sidewalk notadjacent to a park, then the operator will needpermits rom the Mayors Street Activity PermitOce.13

i. New York City Department o Parks andRecreationTe maze or procuring a permit starts with thedecision o where to site the market. Te ParksDepartment makes a distinction between:

Markets located on or adjacent to City ParksDepartment land that are in higher-income

13 In some rare instances, markets located on City property are

managed by other agencies, such as the Department of Educa-tion. In these instances, an arrangement is reached with the

relevant agency. Because this is uncommon, the process is not

explicated in this report.

II. THE CHALLENGES

Women Inants and Children (WIC): Federal program that targets low-income, nutritionally at riskwomen and children. Participants in the program receive checks that can be used or the purchase ohealthy oods. Te monthly WIC Fruit and Vegetable Voucher can be used at armers markets.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Federal program that provides low-incomehouseholds with electronic benets they can use like cash at most grocery stores. Te average SNAP ben-

et is $100 per person per month and $200 or more or amilies. All community-based armers marketsaccept SNAP.

Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP): Federal program that provides coupons to WIC partici-pants and seniors. Tese coupons can be used to buy eligible oods rom armers, armers markets or road-side stands that have been approved by the State. All community-based armers markets accept FMNP.

Health Bucks: Health Bucks, worth $2 each, are developed and distributed by NYC Health DepartmentDistrict Public Health Oces and can be used to purchase resh ruits and vegetables at participatingarmers markets.

GOVERNMENT NUTRITION PROGRAMS


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areas Markets located on or adjacent to City Parks

Department land that are in lower-incomeareas

Markets operating out of a City Parks De-partment GreenTumb community gar-

den.

Each type o land has a distinct permitting pro-cess outlined below. A ow-chart graphic canalso be reerenced on page 8.

1. Farmers Markets in Higher-Income AreasTe Parks Department designates a market asoperating in a lower-income area i the marketalls within a ederal Community DevelopmentBlock Grant (CDBG) eligible neighborhood. I

the market alls outside a CDBG area, opera-tors must submit a Special Events Permit Ap-plication, either by mail or in person (no onlineprocess exists), to theBorough Permit Oceo the borough wherethe market will operate.I the operator intendsto run multiple marketsin dierent boroughs,

then they will need tovisit the relevant ocein each borough, submitmultiple applications,and pay multiple ees. Each application comes

with a non-reundable $25 ee. Applicants mustattach to the application a certicate o insurance

with market liability coverage in the amount o$1,000,000. Tis insurance, when purchasedthrough Te Farmers Market Federation o New

York, generally costs $560 or the year.

Tis application will then be processed in 21-30days and will result in a Facilities Permit. Oncean applicant has acquired the Facilities Permit, thenext step is to contact the Revenue Division at theParks Department in order to apply or a empo-rary Use Authorization permit (UA). Te wait-ing period or a UA is a minimum o 14 days.

According to the Parks Department website, a

ee or the UA will be assessed based upon thenature and size o the event. Tere is no urtherdetail given about the actors used to determinethe ee. A call to the UA oce revealed that theee is $15 per day.14

Adding another constraint to the planning pro-cess is the act that once issued, a UA only al-lows the market to operate or 29 non-consecu-tive days. Tat means that i an operator wantedto open a market twice a week, their market sea-son would last three and a hal months abouthal the time markets operating in CDBG areasare allowed to stay open (see next section). Inorder to have a longer season, the operator wouldneed to apply or a new UA.

I an operator wanted to run a market under oneUA, the cost would be $460 or a three and ahal month season.At the other end o the spectrum,

it would cost $1,660 torun a year-round markettwice a week- more than

22 times what a GreenCart operator pays or atwo-year permit. Opera-tors have to pay or the

permits up ront, in ad-dition to the $560 ormarket insurance whichhad to be obtained prior

to applying or the Facilities Permit.

One market operator in Northern Manhattandiscussed the challenges o securing enough cap-ital. Each year the market runs a decit and isorced to organize undraisers to meet basic op-erating costs.

Last year we worked with a local church to sell din-ners rom their location and the proceeds went to tryand get us our insurance. Tis year we dont havemoney or our insurance and were going to haveto do something to raise that money. Were going tohave to do something to build that money up. Wedont just take donations.

-Sonya Simmons, Grassroots Farmers Market, Ham-

ilton Heights Manhattan

14 Telephone conversation with Revenue Division, Department of

Parks and Recreation, March 8 and 23, 2011

RECAP: Markets in Higher Income Areas

Permits Required: Facilities and UA Proo o Insurance Lead ime Necessary: At least two months Maximum Potential Cost: $1,660

6


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2. Farmers Markets in Low-Income AreasIn a laudable eort, the Parks Department hasintroduced a slightly streamlined process ormarkets wishing to operate in underserved com-munities, which are dened by the agency asneighborhoods eligible or CDBG. Rather than

two permits, markets located in low-income,CDBG areas only need a Farmers Market Permitrom the Borough Permit Oce, or which theystill have to pay a $25 application ee, as well asa $15 a day permitting ee. No UA is required.

New restrictions accom-pany the newly developedFarmers Market Permit.Beore applying to theCity or a permit in a

CDBG area, the marketoperator must become aparticipant in the New

York State Farmers Mar-ket Nutrition Program(FMNP), a ree program

which is managed by theNew York State Depart-ment o Agriculture andMarkets. Te market can

have no ewer than three and no more than eightarmers. It can only operate between May 15thand November 15th or no more than two daysa week, bringing the total possible market daysto 54 per year. Tat is nearly double the 29 daysallowed under the UA. Te price tag chargedby the Parks Department is still $15 a day, thesame exact rate used or markets in higher in-come areas. I a market in a CDBG area doesnot want to comply with these restrictions, theymust use the process described in the previous

section.

Tis works out to $835 or a market with a sixmonth season operating two days a week. Justas with the UA, the entire sum must be paidupront with proo o market insurance. Tis ismore than eight times what the Green Carts pro-

gram charges vendors to operate in the same neigh-borhoods or a two-year period.

For a market that would like to operate or theull six-month season, this means coming up

with over a thousand dollars beore selling itsrst head o lettuce. Community-based marketshave minimal resources. Generally, their mainsource o revenue or operating costs comes rom

participation ees levied on armers. I a marketwanted to pass the cost to their armers, underthe limits set by the new Farmers Market Permit,this can mean a ee o between $104 and $278per armer.

Te omission o one steprom the permitting pro-cess is commendable.However, these changesdo not go ar enough.

Te upront costs associ-ated with the new per-mit are still high and area disincentive to opera-tors o limited resources.Further, the ee does notreect that the activitybeing permitted createsbenets or the entirecommunity.

Several operators reported that the Parks Depart-ment requently did not process permits withinthe required timerames and were unamiliar withthe new permitting process. Rather, the dead-line would pass and operators would be orcedto repeatedly call the appropriate Borough O-ce. Some described having their permit axed atthe last minute. Te delay in the issuance o thepermit created problems with their promotionalplans. Tey did not want to begin advertising

until they had their permits, but delays by theParks Department oten let little or no time orcampaigns or community outreach.

Te market itsel does not have enough money.Tis year we are going to charge more ees to thearmers because otherwise we wouldnt be ableto stay aoat.

For certain neighborhoods that have takenon the burden o providing resh ood or theircommunity, the City could orgo some ees sinceorganizations are doing this service or the com-munity. Were not making money . . . We arejust doing it or the community.

Market Operator, Harlem

RECAP: Markets in lower Income Areas

Permits Required: Farmers Market Permit Proo o Insurance Proo o Participation in FMNP Lead ime Necessary: At least one month Maximum Potential Cost: $835


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8

LicenseAgreement

GreenThumb

CommunityGarden

ST

ART

Higher-IncomeArea

*

Submitviamail

orinperson

Submitviamail

orinperson

Submitviamail

orinperson

SpecialEvents

PermitApplication

ApplicationFee:$25

RequiredInformation

VendorList

ItemizedPriceList

ProofofInsurance

FarmersMarket

PermitApplication

ApplicationFee:$25

Restrictions

MinimumFarmers:3

MaximumFarmers:8

AllowableDates:5/15-

11/15

MaxDaysPerWeek:2

RequiredInformation

FMNPParticipationLetter

VendorList

ItemizedPriceList

ProofofInsurance

ACCEPTED

(21-30Days)

ACCEPTED

(21-3

0Days)

FORMAR

KETSEASONEXCEEDING

29NON-CONSECUTIVEDAYS

RETURN

TOHERE

(2Weeks)

TUAPermitIssued

CostPerDay:

$15

TotalAvailableDays:

29

MaxPermitCost:

$435

IncludingApplicationFees+Insurance:$1030

FacilitiesPermitIssued

ApplicantBilled,

ContractSigned,

FarmersM

arketPermitIssued

CostPerD

ay:

$15

TotalAva

ilableDays:

54

MaxPerm

itCost:

$810

Including

ApplicationFee+Insurance:$1395

MaxLength:29Days

RequiredInformation

SpecialEventsPermit

VendorList

ItemizedPriceList

ProofofInsurance

MarketInsurance

$560

TemporaryUse

AuthorizationPermit(TUA)

Revenue

Division

Low-In

comeArea

*

FarmersMarket

FederationofNewYork

MarketInsurance$560

FarmersMarke

t

FederationofNew

York

IFNON-C

DBG

NewYorkCityD

epartmentofParksandRecreation

Far

mersMarketPermitting

ACCEPTED


15/28

3. Farmers Markets in GreenTumb Commu-nity GardensFor gardeners wishing to operate a armers mar-ket out o one o the 600 community gardensoperated by the GreenTumb division o theParks Department, the process is much simpler.

GreenTumb, unlike other divisions at the ParksDepartment, allows community gardens to sellagricultural produce as long as proceeds are usedto directly support the operation o the garden.Tis inormation is included in each gardens li-cense agreement, but unortunately does not ap-pear on the GreenTumb website.

ii. Mayors Street Activity Permit Ofce(SAPO)I an operator wants to open a community-based

armers market on a sidewalk that is not on parkland, this requires a permit rom the Street Ac-tivity Permit Oce (SAPO), housed within theMayors Oce o Citywide Event Coordinationand Management. Beore applying or a SAPOpermit, the market operator will need to get sign-o rom the relevant Community Board.

Unlike with the Parks Department, there is nocap on the number o days the market can oper-

ate. However, operators must submit their applica-tion by December 31st o the preceding year. Mostcommunity-based markets have shoestring bud-gets and minimal sta. Requiring them to haveall their armers secured and a large portion ocapital raised in the middle o winter monthsbeore the market season typically begins in New

York is an undue burden. Further, despite thisearly deadline, SAPO has no internal standardsor how quickly applications must be processed.

SAPO has created an online application processwhich they encourage the public to use by mak-ing hard-copy applications available only at theirdowntown oce. Tere is a $15.50 applica-tion ee. Again, operators looking or clear, eas-ily accessible inormation about permitting ees

will be disappointed. Tough sta was riendly

and helpul once reached, it took several calls toSAPO to determine that a armers market per-mit costs $15 a day. An operator wishing to op-erate a twice weekly year-round market would berequired to pay $1,575 in permitting ees.

B. Parking

Another challenge created by the City relates to

securing parking or vendors. In order or mostmarkets to operate eectively, they need reservedparking or their armers. Farmers incur manycosts on their drive into the City or market day,rom gas to on-arm labor in their absence, tochild care. Te additional cost o parking ticketscan be the actor that turns a worthwhile ventureinto a waste o time and resources, many opera-tors reported. Tereore, access to ree parking iscritical to the success o a market.

i. Reserving Parking Spaces: Department oransportationUnortunately, while the Department o rans-portation (DO) has jurisdiction over street signsand parking policies, there is no clear system ormarkets to request signage that reserves parkingor market vendors on market days. Te topicis not mentioned on the DO website. Calls toeach o the six Borough Commissioner Oces(Manhattan has two oces) resulted in dierent

responses. Representatives at each borough ocewere riendly and diligent in researching answers.Unortunately, each oce gave conicting inor-mation about the process or requesting signs. Alloces agreed that the request should be put in

writing. However, some stated that it was unnec-essary to provide copies o SAPO or Parks Depart-

RECAP: Sidewalk Not on Park Land

Permits Required: SAPO Permit Lead ime Necessary: December 31st o

preceding year Maximum Potential Cost: $1,575


16/28

ment permits, while others said it was required.Yet another oce said it was necessary to producea permit rom the Mayors Community AairsUnit a reerence to a process that has been ob-solete or our years. Acommon denominator

among all the responses was the acknowledge-ment that there is noocial process or policyor requesting signageor armers markets.15

One market operator inNorthern Manhattan re-ported requesting park-ing signage annually over

a our year period withno success.16 Te opera-tor submitted the request in writing with copieso the correct permits. Te operator also obtainedand submitted a letter rom her CommunityBoard because they were advised that it was neces-sary. Another operator with markets in the Bronxreported that it took three years to receive signagerom DO. Te operator also was told that theyneeded approval rom her Community Board.17

Markets operatingout o a Green-Tumb gardenace a Catch-22.DO will not is-sue signs or re-served parking

without a permit,but GreenTumbdoes require a per-

mit. Rather, thelicense agreement authorizes the garden to operatea market. Unortunately, DO does not recog-nize the license as a valid permit and thereore willnot issue these markets reserved parking signage.18

Further complicating the process is the act thatthere is no protocol in place around placards

or the armers vehicles. Representatives at theDO Borough Commissioner oces believedthat SAPO was responsible or issuing such park-ing placards. Conversely, representatives at SAPO

were under the impres-sion that it was DOs

responsibility to issueparking placards.19 Asa result, operators areorced to create theirown placards. Many op-erators discussed work-ing with their local policeprecinct to create tem-porary reserved parkingsigns. One operator inthe Bronx gives photo-

copies o its Parks permitto the armers to place in

the windshields, a custom that is not always eec-tive in preventing parking tickets.

ii. Enorcement: New York rafc PoliceTe result o this haphazard system is the re-quent ticketing o arm-related vehicles, with nesreaching as high as $100 or a single ticket. Tesetickets are issued despite the act that vehicles

are operating indesignated areas with City ap-proved permits.

New York Po-lice Department(NYPD) racDivision is re-sponsible or en-orcing all DO

signage. For themarkets that have procured signage, some respon-dents reported that NYPD does not adequately orconsistently enorce the parking restrictions estab-

We had to put up a couple thousand dollars in

the beginning o the season. For a small operationlike us, that was a lot. We have a small budget.It was denitely a burden in the beginning. Oneo our markets is on a corner on two streets, so wehad to pay or two permits. We had to pay or twoor each day because its technically on two streetseven though its the same size as other markets. Soits $30 day and it adds up. Especially when youhave to ork it over in the beginning.

-ravis ench, Market Manager, Bushwick Farm-

ers Market

15 Telephone conversations on March 22 and 23, 2011

16 Telephone interview, March 10, 2011

17 Questionnaire response completed on March 1, 2011

18 Telephone interview, December 9, 2010

19 Telephone conversations with DOT Borough Commissioner

Ofces, March 22, 2011 and telephone conversation with SAPO,

March 23, 2011

Parkings been a headache, too. Because we didnt have the market permit enough in advance, DO wasnt able to give us signs. Teprecinct said they would enorce it and reserve the parking or thearmers. But problems came up when people would park there any-way [despite signs rom NYPD] and we would call the precinct. Teywould come out and say that they couldnt issue tickets because thesign isnt rom DO even though the precinct gave us a permit. It wasa permit that they couldnt enorce.

- Market Operator, Brooklyn

10


17/28

lished by the DO signs.

For example, one operator, with multiple mar-kets across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan andQueens, has ound that at certain market loca-tions, NYPD will give armers tickets or parking

in spots re-served or themarket.20 Teoperator takesthe time tocontest eachticket. Inthe instances

where theticket is up-held, the op-

erator absorbs the cost so as to maintain positiverelationships with her armers and minimize therisk that the armer will stop participating in themarket. Other operators complained that NYPDailed to ticket or tow unauthorized vehicles thatparked in the spots reserved or the armers.

C. Other Operational Challengesi.Access to Commercial Kitchen SpaceTe market operators that responded to the

survey and were interviewed talked about oth-er challenges that they aced. Many shared theaspirations o their community members to sell

added value products such as homemade jamsand resh baked breads. Tey viewed this as anopportunity or community members to earn ex-tra income by drawing on their cultures culinarytraditions. However, without access to commer-cial kitchen space, these plans were stymied; the

New York StateD e p a r t m e n to Agricultureand Markets re-quires the ma-

jority o value-added productsto be preparedin commercialkitchens i soldat markets.21

ii.Access to Land for Urban FarmingSome market operators who responded to thesurvey discussed the diculty they aced in re-cruiting armers to their markets. Perceptionsabout the saety o the neighborhood and thespending power o the residents kept manyarmers away. Operators wanted to reduce theirdependency on rural armers by drawing on thegardening and arming skills o their communi-

ties. Unortunately, lack o access to land or ur-ban arming made it dicult to transorm thesevisions into realities.

20 Telephone interview, February 23, 2011

21 For more information on home processor licensing visit: http://

www.agmkt.state.ny.us/fs/consumer/processor.html

I am a sole person trying to start this market. I borrowed $20,000to do it . . . and . . . still have not started paying mysel. I have 26small New York City ood startup businesses as vendors (in addition toarmers). I have created a lot o economic activity. I had wanted morelow-income people doing startups, but they could not aord the com-mercial kitchen ees . . . I there was a commercial kitchen nearby, we

could really go to town.

- Market Operator, Brooklyn


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In 2008, armers markets in Seattle began to eelpressure rom real estate development. Marketshad been operating on vacant private propertyand were rapidly loosing their sites to new devel-opments. Market sponsors asked local govern-ment or help securing stable locations on publicproperty. Seattles city government agreed becausethey recognized the public benets the marketsconerred. Local ocials viewed the public ben-ets brought by these simple, popular markets (to)include improved access to high quality resh ruitsand vegetables, a regular gathering place or peopleto interact in their neighborhood business districts,increased commerce or adjacent businesses due togreater oot trac on market days, and preserva-

tion o local arm land rom redevelopment.22

However, the expense o city permits was a hurdlemany markets could not overcome. Seattle assem-bled a team o representatives rom the Depart-ment o ransportation, Parks Department, FireDepartment and Oce o Economic Develop-ment (OED) to create a program that would pro-mote the use o public sites or armers markets.Te team created a set o reduced permitting ees

and housed the oversight and coordination o thearmers market program in the OED.

Te Seattle Parks Department reduced its annualpermit to $1,475,23 down rom a high in some in-

stances o $8,000.24 Tough still high, the ee ismore aordable than a year-round permit rom theNYC Department o Parks and Recreation. Formarkets operating on city streets, Seattles Depart-ment o ransportation changed rom a monthlyto an annual permitting process with a price tag oonly $251. o operate a year-round market on aNew York City street, an operator would have topay $1,620 more than seven times higher thanin Seattle. Finally, the Seattle Fire Department de-cided to completely waive its public assembly eein order to support armers markets.25

In addition to lower ees, Seattle oers marketoperators a simplied process and a single point

o contact or their interactions with local govern-ment. wice annually, the OED hosts a meetingor operators. At the rst meeting, OED providesthe operators with the most up-to-date versionso the necessary orms and answers any questions.

At the second meeting, the OED collects orms,payments, and again takes questions.26

22 OED Farmers Market Program: Policies to Stabilize and

Strengthen Neighborhood Farmers Markets

23 There is an additional fee if an electrical or water hook-up is

required. These are services New York City does not offer to

farmers markets.24 www.seattlepi.com/local/361290_nickels01.html

25 OED Farmers Market Program: Policies to Stabilize and

Strengthen Neighborhood Farmers Markets

26 Telephone interview with Karen Selander, Business Services

Team, Ofce of Economic Development, Seattle, March 21, 2011

III. BEST PRACTICE: SEATTLE

12


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1. Eliminate Daily Permit Fee or Markets inCommunity Development Block Grant Areas:Markets in underserved areas provide a valuableand much needed service to city residents. Provid-ing resh produce to underserved neighborhoodsrepresents a clear community benet that directlycombats obesity and health-related illness. Tere-ore, markets operating in low-income areas, asdelineated by the CDBG program, should not becharged a permitting ee. Te ee provides only anominal revenue stream to the City while creat-ing a major burden or community-based armersmarkets. Alternatively, the City should consideraligning permitting ees or armers market withthe $75 two-year permitting ee levied on Green

Cart vendors.

2. Simpliy and Clariy the Process: Te cur-rent operation and permitting process is decen-tralized, cumbersome and conusing. Te onusshould not be on a prospective market operatorto gather all the necessary inormation about per-mitting and operations rom multiple city agen-cies.

Assign Oversight o Farmers Markets to a Sin-gle City Entity: Te City should designate acentralized entity to oversee the permittingand regulation o armers markets. Tis en-tity should act as a clearinghouse or all rel-evant inormation. One logical designation

would be to assign this responsibility to theMayors Food Policy Coordinator, housed inthe Oce o the Deputy Mayor or Healthand Human Services. As in Seattle with theOce o Economic Development, the Food

Policy Coordinator could collect all the rel-evant applications and guide market opera-tors through the application process. In thelong term, the City should create a Depart-ment o Food and Markets to coordinate andlead systemic reorm o the Citys ood andagricultural policies and programs.

Create a Uniorm Application Process: TeDepartment o Parks and Recreation andStreet Activity Permit Oce should worktogether to create one, uniorm applicationas both agencies collect similar inormationrom applicants. Further, the protocols orapplying should be streamlined. It does notmake sense to have three dierent standardsor the times o year when a market can open,how requently a market can operate, and thelength o time it takes to approve the permit.Tese processes should be standardized acrossall agencies and the ve boroughs.

Create a Guide to Operating a Farmers Market:

Te lack o upront, clear inormation aboutpermitting and operating procedures createsneedless nancial and planning burdens.Permitting ee structures should always betransparent and accessible. As such, all agen-cies with a role in permitting and oversee-ing armers markets should participate inthe creation o an easy-to-understand guideto opening and operating a armers market.Tis guide should be made available online

and in print. Additionally, all agencies witha role should post relevant inormation ontheir websites.

3. Create Standard Procedures or FarmersMarket Parking:

Te Department o ransportation Must Cre-ate a Clear Policy or Requesting Signage: Telack o a clear policy or requesting signageand responding to requests is causing conu-

sion and delays. o increase eciency, DOshould create an ocial policy or requestingsignage. A contact person should be desig-nated or armers market requests.

Appropriate Agencies Must Develop Farmers Market Parking Placards: Market operatorsneed authorized parking placards to distrib-

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS


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ute to armers and clear instructions about where the placard should be displayed. Assuch, one agency must take responsibility ordesigning and distributing such placards.

NYPD rafc Ofcers Must Be rained Regard-

ing Enorcement or Farmers Market Parking:NYPD rac Ocers need clear training onparking policies or armers market in orderto prevent the incorrect issuance o ticketsto armers authorized to park at the markets.Vehicles not authorized by the armers mar-ket should be ticketed and towed i they parkin spaces reserved or markets.

4. Create an Inormation and Outreach Cam-paign about Using Federal and State Nutri-

tion Supports at Farmers Markets: Millions odollars in ederal aid is lost annually because olow participation rates in FMNP and SNAP. Forexample, in 2010, only 57 percent o all FMNP

WIC and Seniors checks and WIC vouchers wereredeemed statewide.27 Tat represents a loss tothe New York economy o over $2.8 million de-signed to be spent by low-income residents atarmers markets.

New York City should design a comprehensiveinormation campaign about state and ederalprograms that supports shopping at local armersmarkets. Tis inormation campaign should beintegrated into the current process used by socialservice agencies, such the Human Resource Ad-ministration, to enroll residents in SNAP, empo-rary Assistance to Needy Families and other gov-ernment support programs. Further, teams shouldbe sent to do outreach at Department o HomelessService shelters, New York City Housing Author-

ity properties and City-managed senior centers.

5. Increase Access to Urban Land or Farming:Community-based armers markets ace particu-lar challenges in recruiting rural armers to theircommunities. New York City should help themachieve sel-suciency by supporting urban agri-culture. Te Oce o the Manhattan BoroughPresident continues to support the recommenda-

tions outlined in its 2010 report, FoodNYC: ABlueprint or Sustainable New York, or estab-lishing urban ood production as a priority inNew York City.

Assess Land Availability and Suitability or Ur-

ban Agriculture:Te New York City Councilshould pass legislation mandating that Cityagencies conduct an annual assessment oCity-owned property and nominate suitablesites or urban agriculture. Tis eort is sim-ilar to the Diggable City project in Port-land, Oregon, that integrated urban agricul-ture into planning and policymaking. Basedon a preliminary analysis o data provided bythe Department o Housing Preservation andDevelopment in 2008, there are 454 total va-

cant lots above 110th Street in Manhattan.O those, over 100 are owned by the City andmany have no development plans.

Create a Citywide Urban Agriculture Program:Te Mayor should establish a citywide Urban

Agriculture Program to support the creationo ood growing spaces. Te program shouldbe similar to Capital Growth, Londons cam-paign to plant 2,012 growing spaces by the

2012 Olympics by connecting people toland, providing unding, and oering practi-cal guidance on how to grow ood.

Ensure the Permanence o Community Gar-dens: Te City should preserve communitygardens as parks, as proposed in a resolutionintroduced in the City Council to help es-tablish the permanence o existing gardensin perpetuity. Cleveland, Boston and Seattlehave all established similar initiatives.

6. Increase Access to Commercial KitchenSpace: Many markets would like the opportuni-ty to sell added-value products at their markets,but are unable to expand their business modelsbecause they lack access to commercial kitchens.

27 Data from NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets on

FMNP

14


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Explore Using City-Owned Kitchens: Te De-partment o Education and the Departmentor the Aging, as well as other appropriateCity agencies, should undertake an inventoryo ull service kitchens in schools and seniorcenters and assess the easibility o allowing

community members to use the kitchens dur-ing non-operational hours.

Create an Online Portal o Available KitchenSpace: Te Food Policy Coordinator, or otherappropriate New York City governmental en-tity, should provide technical support to mar-kets looking or commercial kitchen space.By perorming outreach to organizations,such as religious institutions or nonprots,

which would be willing to rent or open theirkitchens during o-hours, the City can helpmarkets to maximize available resources.Te inormation gathered should be madeavailable through an online portal that listsavailable sites and the types o equipment

that are available. Te Northeast Center orFood Entrepreneurship at the New York StateFood Venture Center at Cornell Universityprovides this service in a limited capacity andcan be used as a model.28

28 The Center does not do outreach or research on possible locations,

rather they post availability when contacted. Telephone Interview,

March 23, 2011. http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/Co

PackerKitchen/ny.html


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Te Manhattan Borough Presidents Oce questionnaire was developed and distributed toall community-based armers markets in the ve boroughs by email. Questionnaire respon-dents were provided with an open-ended response ormat in an eort to acilitate the richestpossible qualitative responses.

Te questionnaire was made available rom 1/24/2011 to 3/31/2011 with 18 out o 28 (64percent) community operated armers markets participating. Tose operators represent 43individual markets or 72 percent o all community-based armers markets citywide. A copyo all survey questions is reprinted in Appendix B.

When inormation detailing ocial New York City policies related to community-basedarmers markets was not available on agency websites, calls were placed by the Borough Presi-dents Oce researchers to relevant agency sta in order to obtain details on City policies.Certain market operators were also called or ollow-up conversations. Calls were placed onDecember 9, 2010, February 23, 2011, March 3, 2011, March 10, 2011, March 21, 2011,

March 22, 2011, March 23, 2011, and March 31, 2011.

V. QUESTIONNAIRE METHODOLOGY

16


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Community-based armers markets are New York City at its best. Tese markets representthe tenacity o residents who are committed to improving the health o their communi-ties despite limited resources and multiple challenges. Unortunately, through an inecientmaze o expensive red-tape, the City is making it even harder or community-based armersmarkets to help their communities. Tis can and should change. By making simple, good-government changes that improve eciency and accessibility and by bringing ees in-line

with policy priorities, the City can increase access to resh ruits and vegetables, combat diet-related illness, and improve relationships with underserved communities.

VI. CONCLUSION


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APPENDIX A: COMMUNITY-BASED FARMERS MARKETS IN NEW YORK CITY

18

Source: New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets

Market NameMarket NameMarket NameMarket Name Market LocationMarket LocationMarket LocationMarket Location BoroughBoroughBoroughBoroughBissel Gardens Farmers Market Baychester Ave. & E. 241 St. Bronx

Bronx Terminal Farmers Market (wholesale to public) New Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point, 800 Food Center Drive Bronx

Harvest Home Co-op City Farmers Market Pkg. lot # 3, West side of Co-op City Blvd. North of Bellamy Loop Bronx

Harvest Home Echo Park Farmers Market Ryer St. and Burnside Ave. Bronx

Harvest Home Forest Ave. Farmers Market Forest Ave. between Westchester Ave. & E. 156th St. Bronx

Harvest Home Jacobi Hospital Farmers Market 1400 Pelham Pkwy. at Eastchester Rd. Bronx

Harvest Home Jerome Ave. Farmers Market Plaza Drive between 170th St. & Elliot Place Bronx

Harvest Home Mt. Eden Farmers Market Mt. Eden & Morris Avenues near Bronx-Lebanon Hospital BronxHarvest Home North Central Bronx Farmers Market Mosholu Parkway North & Jerome Ave. Bronx

Harvest Home Sunday Farmers Market Grand Concourse & E. 165th St. at Bronx Museum of the Arts Bronx

Harvest Home West Farms Farmers Market Drew Gardens E. Tremont Ave. between Boston Rd. & E. 177th St. Bronx

Hunts Point Farmers Market E. 163rd St. and Hoe Ave. Bronx

La Familia Verde Farmers Market Tremont Park, E. Tremont & Lafontaine Aves. Bronx

Mott Haven Farmers Market Padre Plaza Garden, E. 139th St. & 283 Saint Ann's Ave. Bronx

Northeast Bronx Farmers Market Haffen Park, Hammersley & Wickham Avenues Bronx

South Bronx Community Farmers Market 450 St. Ann's Ave. at E. 146th Street Bronx

Taqwa Community Farmers Market 90 W. 164th St. at Ogden Ave. (in garden) Bronx

Brownsville Community Farmers Market BMS Family Health Center Lot, 592 Rockaway Ave. Brooklyn

Bushwick/Broadway Farmers Market Linden St. between Broadway and Bushwick Ave. Brooklyn

Bushwick/Maria Hernandez Park Farmers Market Knickerbocker & Willoughby Avenues Brooklyn

Bushwick/Myrtle-Wyckoff Farmers Market Myrtle & Wyckoff Aves. at Myrtle-Wyckoff MTA station Brooklyn

Coney Island Farmers Market KeySpan Park, Surf Ave. & W. 16th St. Brooklyn

DUMBO Farmers Market The Triangle between Pearl St. & Anchorage Place Brooklyn

East N.Y. Farms Farmers Market I New Lots and Schenck Avenues Brooklyn

East New York Farms Farmers Market II New Lots Ave. between Alabama & Georgia Avenues Brooklyn

Flatbush-Caton Merchants Mart Farmers Market 794-814 Flatbush Ave. at Caton Ave.(in courtyard) Brooklyn

Foodshed Market at the Commons 388 Atlantic Ave. between Hoyt and Bond Sts. BrooklynGraham Avenue Farmers Market Cook St. between Graham Ave. and P.S. 257 playground Brooklyn

H.S. for Public Service Farmers Market 600 Kingston Ave. between Rutland & Winthrop Rds. Brooklyn

Harvest Home Coney Island Farmers Market Ocean Parkway between Ave. Z & Shore Parkway Brooklyn

Harvest Home Lutheran Hospital Farmers Market 55th St. off Second Ave. inside gate Brooklyn

Hattie Carthan Community Garden Farmers Market Marcy Ave. between Lafayette Ave. & Clifton Pl., at Tomkins Park Brooklyn

Malcolm X Blvd. Community Farmers Market Malcolm X Blvd. between Chauncey & Marion Streets Brooklyn

Park Slope Indoor Farmers Market Old American Can Factory, 232 Third St. at Third Ave. Brooklyn

Park Slope-Fifth Ave. Farmers Market Fifth Ave. between 3rd & 4th Streets at Washington Park Brooklyn

Red Hook Farmers Market Red Hook Farm, Columbia & Sigourney Streets Brooklyn

Urban Oasis Farmers Market Market Pavilion, Clarkson & Troy Avenues Brooklyn

Weeksville Heritage Center Farmers Market 1698 Bergen St. btw. Buffalo & Rochester Avenues Brooklyn

Fulton Stall Market at South Street Seaport South St. between Fulton & Beekman Streets Manhattan

Grass Roots Farmers Market Jackie Robinson Park, W. 145th St. & Edgecombe Ave. Manhattan

Harlem Harvest Madison Ave. Farmers Market East side of Madison Ave. & E. 112th St. Manhattan

Harlem Harvest State Office Bldg. Farmers Market W. 125th St. & Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. Manhattan

Harvest Home Bellevue Farmers Market E. 27th St. between 1st Ave. & Carmel Place Manhattan

Harvest Home Go Green E. 106th St. Farmers Market Franklin Plaza E. 106th St. & Third Ave. Manhattan

Harvest Home Metropolitan Hospital Farmers Market East side of Second Ave. between E 99th & E 110th Sts. Manhattan

Harvest Home Mt. Morris Park Farmers Market Marcus Garvey Park, E. 124th St. & Fifth Ave. ManhattanHarvest Home Union Settlement Farmers Market E. 104th St. & Third Ave. Manhattan

Harvest Home Youth Stand at Childrens Store Front School E. 129th St between Park & Madison Aves. Manhattan

La Marqueta (NYC Public Retail Market) E. 115th St. & Park Ave. under Metro North tracks Manhattan

Morningside Park Farmers Market W. 110th St. & Manhattan Ave. Manhattan

South Village Farmers Market Sixth Ave. at Carmine St. Manhattan

Corona/New York Hall of Science Farmers Market Hall of Science Plaza, 111th St. & 48th Ave., Corona Queens

Culinary Kids Garden Farmers Market II 1908 Brookhaven Avenue Queens

Flushing/Queens Botanical Garden Farmers Market College Pt. Ave. and Blossom Ave. Queens

Harvest Home Farmers Blvd. Farmers Market 109-53 Farmer's Blvd. between 109th & 110th Rds. Queens

Jamaica Farmers Market 90-40 160th St. off Jamaica Ave. Queens

Joseph Addabbo Family Health Center Farmers Market 6200 Beach Channel Drive, rear parking lot, Arverne Queens

Queens Hospital Center Farmers Market 82-68 164th St. in front of Ambulatory Care Pavilion Queens


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APPENDIX B: COMMUNITY-BASED FARMERS MARKET SURVEY

I. Background

1. Please provide information on your market:

a) What is your market season typically?

b) How many people do you employ at your market(s)?c) How many people volunteer at your market(s)?

d) How many rural farms sell at your market(s)?

e) How many urban farms sell at your market(s)?

f) What were the annual sales at your market(s) for the 2010 season?

g) What were the annual prots for your market(s) for the 2010 season?

II. Permits

1. In order to operate your market, from which State/City agencies do you need permits? Please

write the name of the permit and the cost (including how often you pay - seasonally, daily,

weekly) in the box next to each agency that applies.

Community Board

MTA

NYS Dept. of Health

NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation

NY Police Dept.

Street Activities Permit Ofce (SAPO)

2. What is the total amount you spend each season on permits?

3. For each permit, explain the challenges (if any) that you face in obtaining it (please makes sure

to identify which permit you are discussing).

Community Board

MTA

NYS Dept. of Health

NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation

NY Police Dept.

Street Activities Permit Ofce (SAPO)

4. How, if at all, would you improve the permit process?


26/28

III. Parking

1. Do you work with Department of Transportation to reserve parking spaces for your market?

2. If yes, please explain the process and include whether or not you have permanent or seasonal

signage.

3. How much does reserving parking cost you?

4. Enforcement

Do unauthorized drivers park in spots reserved for the market?

If drivers park in reserved spots, does NYPD issue tickets?

Do farmers ever receive tickets from NYPD even if they have the correct parking permits?

Additional Comments

IV. Public Safety

1. Is public safety an issue that affects your market? Please explain.

2. If you have ever requested assistance in improving public safety at your market from NYPD

or other local ofcials, please explain the process and outcome.

3. Please share any successes in or ideas for improving public safety.

V. Operations

1. Does your market experience difculty recruiting and/or retaining rural farmers? Explain.

2. Would you be interested in having more urban-produced food sold at your market?

3. If yes, select all of the following that would help increase the amount of urban-produced food

at your market.

More urban land to grow food

Access to commercial kitchen space

Access to refrigeration and storageOther/Additional

4. What does your market do with left-over produce at the end of the market day?

Throw it away

Donate to food pantry

Sell to retail outlet

Other

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

20


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5. Which of the following does your market accept? Please check all that apply.

EBT/Food Stamps/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Health Bucks

Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) WIC & Seniors

Monthly WIC Fruit and Vegetable Vouchers

6. Please describe any challenges you face participating in any of the above programs.

7. If the City offered tax incentives to expand or support farmers markets, would take advantage

of the nancing? Explain.

8. Please share any additional comments or ideas for how the City could support community

operated farmers markets.


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red tape, green vegetables: a plan to improve new york city’s regulationsfor community-based...

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