🍎 citymeetings.nyc #34

Food Infrastructure, Food Insecurity, Cooling Centers, Arts Education

                April 14, 2025

            🍎 citymeetings.nyc #34

            Food Infrastructure, Food Insecurity, Cooling Centers, Arts Education
Howdy!
The mayor's Charter Revision Commission has officially partnered with citymeetings.nyc to publish all their hearings.
Their Friday press release gives it a mention and citymeetings.nyc will be publishing their meetings starting on May 1st.
Stay tuned!
Vikram

This week's highlights are from hearings on:

NYC's food infrastructure
Hunger and food insecurity in NYC
Cooling centers and extreme heat events
Access to arts education and school libraries

For a complete listing of published meetings, visit https://citymeetings.nyc.

Hearing on NYC's Food Infrastructure and Affordability

Matthew D'Arrigo, an owner of Hunts Point Produce Market, gives testimony. 
This was a hearing by the committees on Oversight & Investigation and Economic Development examining the city's food infrastructure, its impact on produce quality, and rising costs.

~19 billion pounds of food flow through New York City each year, distributed by tens of thousands of businesses operating at local to global levels. Link
~90% of goods in NYC are transported by truck, with half the city's food supply moving through just four bridges and two tunnels. Link
The Blue Highways initiative aims to shift freight transport from congested roadways to the city's waterways, with Hunts Point considered as a potential marine terminal site. Link
Food prices have increased by about 2.6% annually since 2022, with grocery prices rising nearly 2% between January 2024 and January 2025. Link
The Hunts Point Markets feeds ~75% of people in the tri-state area, with the produce market supplying 50% of the produce consumed by New Yorkers. Link
The Hunts Point produce facility relies on approximately 1,000 diesel-powered refrigeration units due to insufficient storage capacity. Link
A new GrowNYC regional food hub opening in May will quadruple distribution capacity from 5 million to 20 million pounds of food annually. Link
~700 food pantries and soup kitchens recorded ~35 million visits while participating in the Community Food Connection program in 2024. Link
CM Brewer raised the issue of implementing a lettuce washing machine in NYC to reduce the inefficiency of transporting pre-washed lettuce from California. Link
Hunts Point Market owner Matthew D'Arrigo explained that the market operates on a day-to-day trading basis, maintaining only 3-4 days of produce supply to ensure freshness. Link

Hearing on Hunger and Food Insecurity in New York City

Lynette Brown from Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens gives testimony.
This was a a hearing examining food assistance programs and persistent challenges around hunger and food insecurity in NYC.

24% of NYC residents experience food insecurity, rising to 38% among low-income households. Black and Hispanic households face higher rates than white households. Link
SNAP provides nutritious food assistance to 1.8 million New Yorkers, including 550,000 children and 545,000 older adults. Link
The Community Food Connection funds over 700 food pantries and community kitchens across NYC, serving more than 21.5 million people this fiscal year. Link
The Community Food Connection budget totals $60 million for fiscal year 2025 but is projected to drop to $20.9 million in 2026. Link
A proposed House plan would cut $230 billion from agriculture funding, severely impacting SNAP benefits for New Yorkers. Link
District 16 in The Bronx lacks access to healthy and fresh foods. The only mobile food pantry there is funded by Council Member Stevens' office. Link
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has seen a 1000% increase in food pantry attendance since the pandemic. Some pantries now serve 400-500 clients weekly instead of 25-30. Link
A young person wrote a plea for food money on a participatory budgeting ballot in District 16, revealing severe youth food insecurity in the area. Link
Two seniors had their SNAP benefits stolen on the first day of the month, leaving them without food and dependent on food pantries. Link
A shelter in Queens removed the only microwave from a young mother's unit without notice, preventing her from preparing food for her twin daughters. Link

Hearing on Cooling Centers and Extreme Heat

Shelby Lester from UPROSE gives testimony.
NYC officials and community groups testified about the city's cooling center program, extreme heat emergencies, and Introduction 998, which aims to codify and improve cooling centers.

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related event in NYC, surpassing hurricanes and winter storms. Link
The cooling center program has operated since the late 1990s, with NYC currently having over 600 facilities in libraries, senior centers, and community centers. Link
NYC Department of Health recently corrected its count of heat-related deaths from 350 to 580 annually due to a coding error. Link
In 2024, NYC experienced 23 heat emergency days, up from 5 days the previous year and above the typical average of 2-3 days annually. Link
Cooling center visits can reduce the risk of heat-related deaths by an estimated 66%. Link
About 80% of lethal heat stroke victims die at home, almost always without working air conditioning. Link
The Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides air conditioners for eligible residents, has closed early in the last two years due to funding shortages. Link
Sunset Park in Brooklyn experiences temperatures 6-8 degrees higher than the citywide average due to industrial infrastructure and limited green spaces. Link
Community organizations reported cooling centers with non-functional air conditioning, limited hours, and staff unaware their facilities were designated as cooling centers. Link
NYC historically experiences four days per year over 95 degrees Fahrenheit, projected to increase to 32 days by mid-century and nearly two months by century's end. Link

Hearing on Arts Education in NYC Public Schools

Eve Wolf from Dancing Classrooms gives testimony.
This was a joint hearing by the committees on Cultural Affairs and Education examining equitable access to arts education and the state of libraries in NYC Public Schools.

Only 31% of eighth graders in NYC public schools meet the state requirement for two semesters of art instruction in different disciplines. Link
CM Restler reports that 16% of NYC schools have a librarian and 30% (480 schools) don't have a library at all. Link
In the 2023-2024 school year, 82% of NYC public schools had no full-time theater teacher, 81% had no full-time dance teacher, and 52% had no full-time music teacher. Link
DOE officials confirmed there are approximately 250 certified school librarians for NYC's 1,600 public schools. Link
52% of NYC schools do not have dedicated art classrooms. Link
A music teacher at PS 123K in Bushwick testified that a previously non-speaking student spontaneously said "xylophone" and played it for peers after music education. Link
Nico, a seventh-grade student at Ballet Tech, testified that dance education taught him discipline that helps in his academic classes and shaped his career goals. Link
After a ten-week dance program, 95% of students showed increased engagement and motivation, according to Dancing Classrooms. Link
A student at IS 229 in The Bronx wrote a song about resilience through a music education program, which gave her the confidence to seek help about an abusive home situation. Link

Thanks for reading!
Comments, questions, or feedback? Reply to this email or shoot me a note at vikram@citymeetings.nyc

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