Sugary Drinks Take Center Stage (Again)

Mayor Bloomberg is tarnishing his admirable record on nutrition by focusing on attacking sugary drinks rather than educating the public about proper nutrition.

Soda Tax Efforts

In 2009, Governor Paterson  proposed an 18% tax on sodas and sugary drinks with less than 70% juice, but he was unable to get the support he needed in the State Legislature to get his proposal enacted. Paterson attempted the tax again in 2010 with a somewhat different approach, but the result was the same. Paterson seemed to be searching for revenue and chose soda as a convenient "sin tax" target.

Paterson is likely the most progressive Governor in the history of our state, but he seems to be willing to ask the poor to fund his budget gap because the gap is so large. A soda tax would take a far larger share of income from poor and low income New Yorkers than from those more fortunate. It is a classic regressive tax, and unlike cigarette taxes, it cannot successfully be defended on the basis of a claim that soda consumption is uniquely dangerous or unhealthy.

The current Bloomberg effort is not designed to create revenue but rather to reduce obesity and calorie consumption.

As we stated in 2010:

Soda is singled out for taxation on the basis of its contribution to obesity, but candy bars, cakes, cookies, pies, and ice cream would not be affected. Can anyone argue that we should encourage New Yorkers to eat more candy bars and ice cream but drink less non-diet soda as our strategy for reducing obesity in New York? Even amongst drinks, soda is not the worst offender. Soda and orange juice have approximately the same amount of sugar. Grape juice has 70% more sugar than soda. If it is sugar consumption which we want to reduce, we should tax grape juice as well as candy bars and ice cream before we go after soda.

Now, the inconsistency and flaws related to targeting soda have returned in the Bloomberg proposal to limit the size of sugary drinks sold to the public by certain establishments.

Bloomberg Attempts to Ban Some Sales of Large Sodas

We have complimented the Mayor on his health initiatives, and we continue to see his interest in improving health statistics as genuine. But, his most recent health initiative fails the common-sense test of whether the goal and the initiative match. Bloomberg's proposal would ban the serving of any sugary sodas (but not fruit juice, milk, and other sugary beverages) of more than 16 ounces at our city's restaurants, bodegas, and other establishments. There would be no ban on serving multiple 16 ounce sugary drinks to the same person.

Not only does the ban miss 7-Eleven, Duane Reade, and Rite Aid, it misses grape juice, orange juice, and milk. It misses milk shakes, Jamba Juice, and smoothie shops. It misses donuts, ice cream, pies, cakes, candy bars, and ICEE's. It is soda-centric instead of calorie-centric or health-centric.

Instead of banning large drinks, Bloomberg should encourage education and knowledge as he did with calorie counts at restaurants. Ultimately, the public will make its choices. He can help the public make better choices by providing information and support.

The experience of Prohibition tells us how much the public will resist bans. Moreover, Bloomberg's approach will send consumers to 7-Eleven and away from other establishments.

So, Bloomberg is wrong on this one, but he should continue to advocate for better nutrition for New Yorkers (and he should stop his advocacy of the white supremacist policing strategy that has dominated his time as Mayor).

NY Health Under Attack in Budget Negotiations

Last week, we saw the debate over the federal budget reach a fever pitch. The Republican Party demanded budget cuts, including cuts in areas that help keep our communities healthy.

Health Funding Under Attack While Health Declines

Lost in last week’s debate in Washington about increasing the debt ceiling was the impact of potentially massive public sector cuts on average Americans, especially lower income households and middle-class families.  One area that can ill-afford more spending cuts is the public health sector.

In a recent ground-breaking report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011, from Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced that adult obesity rates increased in 16 states over the last year and did not decrease in any states.  Furthermore, twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15 percent; today, 38 states have obesity rates over 25 percent and just one has a rate lower than 20 percent.  Overall, two-thirds of all Americans are obese or overweight.

While NY State ranks 9^th out of 50 states with a 24.7% obesity rate, the situation is more alarming among NYS’ African-American and Latino communities where 31% of African-Americans are obese (vs. 27% of Latinos and 24% of Whites) including 37% of African-American women and 24% of African-American men are obese.

The Report also describes the strong relationship between income, education, obesity, diabetes and hypertension which is often a predictor of heart disease.  As one might expect, lower income and less educated households have higher obesity rates which result in higher rates of diabetes and hypertension. In Upper Manhattan, we face some of the worst levels of education, some of the highest levels of hypertension and diabetes, and high obesity rates to go along with our problem of "food deserts."

The health threat posed by the rising rates of obesity and other noncommunicable diseases has become so severe that the United Nations General Assembly is convening its first-ever High-level Meeting on noncommunicable disease prevention and control in NYC on September 19-20.  The four main noncommunicable diseases - cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes - kill three in five people worldwide. 

The good news is that while funding for education, afterschool programs and non-profits remains under assault, several private and public sector organizations are filling the void by providing a wide-range of free fitness programs for New Yorkers including those listed below.

LUNA Free Yoga Series

YogaLocal and LUNA are providing 500 free guest passes for yoga classes at 24 yoga studios throughout NYC including Yoga for Bliss in Riverdale, MindBodyHealth in Washington Heights and Harlem Yoga.  The passes are available on a first-come first-served basis at www.lunafreeyogaseries.com  

BeFitNYC

Created by the NYC Parks Dept, BeFitNYC BeFitNYC is a search engine for free and low-cost fitness activities in New York City and it lists programs, classes, facilities, and leagues in the Parks Department's properties as well as those of a number of partner groups.  Visit www.befitnyc.com

City Parks Foundation

The City Parks Foundation provides free Golf, Tennis and Track & Field lessons for NYC youth under age 18 in each borough.   These FREE sports programs help promote physical fitness and build self-esteem in a fun, relaxed environment.  Visit http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/sports/sports.html

Stringer's Food Fight Continues as the Space Shuttle Lands in Manhattan

Last week, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer issued a report regarding the NYC government's barriers to the expansion of farmer's markets, and his proposed solutions deserve immediate attention. Also, Manhattan's Intrepid Museum was awarded a Space Shuttle in a highly competitive battle with museums around the country.

Scott Stringer's Food Fight for a Healthier NYC

As a follow-up to his earlier report regarding the "food deserts" in New York City, Manhattan Borough President Stringer released a report last week detailing the challenges for farmer's markets created by NYC rules and regulations, and he proposed six groups of very specific recommendations for improving access to healthy, fresh food in New York City through expansion of farmer's markets.

Specifically, the report found challenges for farmer's markets caused by local regulations including:

1) Red Tape: The permitting process for markets is decentralized, inconsistent, confusing and expensive. In some cases, a market starting in July would have to apply for permits a full seven months in advance.

2) High Cost of Entry: Permit fees are based on the number of days a market will operate for an entire season. The cost of the entire season must be paid upfront, with a single permit often exceeding $800. When combined with required insurance coverage, a market operator, in many cases, must pay over $1,300 before the market season begins in order to obtain a permit. This can be a heavy financial toll for small market operators with limited resources for whom running markets is often not their primary job.

3) Lack of Operational Procedures for Parking: Because traveling to the city for market days is expensive for farmers, free parking is critical to the success of a market. However, the Department of Transportation has no official operating procedure for requesting signage or issuing placards to reserve parking on market days. Some markets reported waiting years to receive reserved parking signage.

Stringer proposed the following six solutions:

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

2. Simplify and Clarify 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 for Farmers Market Parking

• Department of Transportation must create a clear policy for requesting signage

• Appropriate agencies must develop farmers market parking placards

• NYPD traffic officers must be trained regarding enforcement for farmers market parking

4. Create Information and Outreach Campaign About Using Federal and State Nutrition Supports at Farmers Markets

5. Increase Access to Urban Land for 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

To eliminate food deserts and improve the health of the people of New York City, we all need to follow the lead of the Manhattan Borough President and advocate for less red tape and barriers to success for farmer's markets. The fresh fruits and vegetables that are found at farmer's markets are the solution to the problems of poor nutrition and obesity in our communities.

Space Shuttle Lands in Manhattan

The people of New York City should be proud to have been awarded a Space Shuttle for display at the Intrepid Museum as the Space Shuttle program shuts down.

We asked more than a year ago for your support for this effort, and the effort was successful. Senators Gillibrand and Schumer as well as the rest of the elected officials from in and around NYC and New York State deserve enormous credit for their determination and for their willingness to cooperate on this issue.

While some individuals have criticized this achievement because the Space Shuttle selected for Manhattan never flew in space, we should be pleased. There were only four Space shuttles available to be provided to museums around the country. Houston, the headquarters of space flight in our country, was not awarded a Shuttle. Manhattan's Shuttle, Enterprise, flew test flights but never escaped our planet's atmosphere to fly in space. It has all of the same elements of any of the Space Shuttles that have been in space, and it will be an inspiration to the youth of our city to aim high and pursue careers in science and technology. Enterprise was the first Space Shuttle ever built and gave birth to all of the others.

Enterprise will create significant economic opportunity in New York City, bringing new visitors to our city and drawing nearby residents back to the Intrepid Museum.

As New Yorkers, we should be excited to obtain any Space Shuttle and share it with all who visit our great city.

Pace University Shooting Insult

Last week, police in Westchester County named the officer who killed an unarmed football star from Pace University as the officer of the year. The choice speaks volumes for the police culture in Westchester County. Killing innocent, unarmed young black men is heroic in the eyes of the police there. In reality, these killings are too frequent and are criminal.

Skin Color Requirement for Ethics

As we see the sad end of Governor Paterson's campaign for Governor and the US House's Ethics Committee admonishment of Charlie Rangel, we are reminded that we have overcome coordinated attacks in the past, and we will win again. More than ever, we have an increased awareness of the impact of skin color on political determinations.

Bad Week for Upper Manhattan

The New York State Police committed horrible crimes under Pataki, they engaged in criminal behavior on behalf of Spitzer, and their culture of criminality has ended Governor Paterson's run for Governor. We hope that Governor Paterson will clean house at the New York State Police headquarters and not leave this mess for his successor. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo did not create this mess, and he has no obligation to fix it from his current seat.

The NY Times unjustified and inappropriate attacks on the Governor will now appear justified by the behavior of the New York State Police. That should not be permitted.

Similarly, Upper Manhattan should not permit Chairman Rangel to be undermined by the Ethics Committee of the US House.

Skin Color Requirement

The Ethics Committee of the US House admonished Chairman Rangel for taking a Caribbean trip that the Ethics Committee had specifically authorized. The approach to the trip was guided by the Ethics Committee staff, but the Ethics Committee (with a straight face) chose to pretend the there was mild wrong-doing by others instead of simply apologizing for their own lack of integrity and lack of competence.

The comments of one member of Congress tell the story. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat, said she found the action “puzzling and inconsistent” because the ethics panel gave Rangel and five other lawmakers permission to take the trips and “five of them are exonerated of everything but Charlie is not.”

Even more troubling is the requirement that those investigated by the Ethics Committee be African American. In November, we learned that 100% of the members of Congress under full-scale investigation by the Ethics Committee are African American.

A document leaked to The Washington Post [in late October] showed that nearly three dozen lawmakers have come under scrutiny this year by either the House ethics committee or the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent watchdog created in 2008 at the insistence of Pelosi. While the list contained a substantial number of white lawmakers, the ethics committee has not yet launched formal investigative subcommittees with respect to any of them — as it has with the seven African-American members.

Why does the Ethics Committee attack members for activities that the Ethics Committee pre-approved? Why does the Ethics Committee have the view that it can only conduct full-scale investigations of African Americans?

Perhaps the "culture of corruption" that many of us thought was engineered by the Bush White House is still a potent influence within the Ethics Committee.

Stringer Food Fight Continues

Manhattan Borough President deserves praise for his creative, policy-oriented fight for improve nutrition and a better food strategy for all of New York City. We have analyzed his previous food proposals and been vocal about our enthusiasm for his approach. We will discuss his detailed and updated food plan in greater detail in the future, but his consistent attention to this issue is a reminder of how fortunate we are to have the benefit of his leadership here in Manhattan.

Defeating the Health Crisis in NYC

New York City is in the midst of a health crisis, and that crisis, and entrepreneurs are launching a new service designed to fill the information gap that contributes to the crisis. Our city needs a place to turn to obtain the guidance our residents need to live longer and healthier lives.

Our Health Crisis

We wrote about our city's health crisis back in February 2009 as part of our discussion of Borough President Scott Stringer's thorough, innovative, and insightful report focused on the impact of food on the health of New York City residents.

As we stated in February, New York City is already suffering from poor health indicators and a lack of healthy food availability.

The rate of obesity and the rate of diabetes each increased 17% between 2002 and 2004 according to Stringer's Food Report. Manhattan Borough President Stringer's report also alerts us that, amazingly, most of New York City's adults are overweight or obese, and that a direct correlation has been demonstrated between the parts of New York City with the lowest levels of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and the parts of our city that have the highest levels of obesity. Unfortunately, Upper Manhattan is near the top of the list of the areas affected by both the lack of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and the abundance of obesity. As stated in the Borough President's report, one in six restaurants in Central Harlem and East Harlem serves fast food, while the number is only one in twenty-five restaurants on the Upper East Side. Upper Manhattan is in desperate need of greater availability of high quality fresh food, and our local Community Boards can use their land use approval authority to encourage such greater availability.

At the state level, the same lack of health creates budget pressures. New York State spends $6.1 billion on health care related to adult obesity - the 2nd highest level of spending in the nation. Obesity is a statewide epidemic with 56.7% of New York’s adults overweight or obese, and Obesity-attributable Medicaid expenditures in New York are $3.5 billion.

Knowledge Is Power

Today, R.E.A.L. Fitness & Nutrition (www.realfitnessnutrition.com) is launching its information-rich services to help New Yorkers attack the health crisis we face and to help healthy New Yorkers find ways to be even healthier. R.E.A.L. comes from Relevant Experts and Access to Local information.

Amongst its initial offerings are R.E.A.L. Deals, which list special offers, promotions, and discounts from local and national fitness and nutrition companies; R.E.A.L. Events, which is an extensive list of fitness and nutrition activities such as outdoor bootcamp classes, running programs, and healthy cooking seminars; and R.E.A.L. Experts, which showcases some of the best coaches and counselors in New York City.

R.E.A.L. produces and distributes two weekly opt-in electronic newsletters that provide consumers with the most up-to-date local fitness and nutrition information, activities, and bargains.

At Manhattan Viewpoint, we have been impressed with R.E.A.L.'s vision and its experts. We have been so convinced of the need for such services in our community, that we recently made a small financial investment in R.E.A.L. and expect the portal and newsletters to change lives in our local community.

Food Stamp Folly and Farewell to Morgy in Manhattan

Mayor Bloomberg's decision to reject additional food stamp support from the Federal Government demonstrates a growing lack of sensitivity in his office to the challenges faced by non-billionaires in these tough times. 

Separately, the retirement of the Manhattan District Attorney causes us to reflect on his 35 years of service in that role as well as a lifetime of public service. Finally, we say thank you to the Bill Tatum for his leadership in the Black media world and for his leadership in Upper Manhattan.

We start with food stamps.

No Thank You, Mr. President

During the Clinton Presidency, the United States Government took steps to "end welfare as we know it." Amongst those steps was the limiting of food stamp benefits to only three months for any three year period for an able-bodied adult without children. As the country sinks deeper into a frightening and, in some ways, unprecedented recession, advocates for the poor have suggested the elimination if the three month limitation.

Those advocates got their wish in the Stimulus Bill signed into law earlier this month.  In that legislation, the United States Government has granted municipalities the right to extend food stamp benefits to able-bodied adults without children for an unlimited period. Even before most the recent severe economic turmoil, many municipalities have asked individually and on a case by case basis to be permitted to extend these benefits beyond the three month time limit. Now, those municipalities are welcome to extend benefits.

New York City refused to join in the stampede to seek additional food stamp resources for its citizens and now has announced that it will reject the U.S. Government's offer to extend benefits in New York City. While the New York Post praised NYC's decision to turn down federal resources targeted toward the poor in our city, we should all be very disappointed. Food stamps are available to people who earn less than $14,000 per year, and they provide less than $200 of food support per month. Those who live in New York City with such modest incomes are unlikely to be corrupted by $200 of federal support, and the $200 will be spent in New York City, thereby boosting our economy and creating jobs that will reduce poverty and reduce our city's fiscal crisis.

Whether or not one agrees with the philosophy of forcing poor people to work for no pay in order to receive public assistance, everyone can agree in periods when the economy is experiencing a negative shock and when jobs are disappearing faster than any of us can count, a city that refuses to use money from the federal government (food stamps cost the city nothing and are paid for entirely by the United States Department of Agriculture) is failing its citizens. When job losses begin to turn into job creation and when the current economic shock is replaced by stabilization or growth, the ideological and philosophical debate about the need to force poor people to work for government benefits can be reinitiated. For now, our city, with growing poverty, unemployment, dislocation, and a massive budget deficit that must be filled using anti-expansionary policies such as tax increases and reductions in the number of municipal jobs, must eagerly and aggressively take advantage of opportunities such as the food stamp expansion to bring relief to those who are suffering in NYC and to help bring new spending into our local economy to hasten the end of our local depression.

We call on the Mayor to reverse course and see the poor as constituents and fellow New Yorkers rather than an enemy to be punished or an annoyance to be pushed aside. There are far more of us who are poor now than there were only a few months ago. We are reminded of a version of an old cliche: Be nice to people on your way up. You will meet them on your way down. With so many of us on our way down, let us not stand in the way of the efforts of the federal government to help the poor here in NYC. 

Robert Morgenthau Retires

Having first been elected in 1974 and having served with distinction and honor ever since, Robert Morgenthau announced late last week that he would not seek re-election in 2009. His tenure teaches us so much. For those who advocate term limits and who argue that power corrupts, we offer you the Manhattan District Attorney as the counterargument. For those who underestimate the impact of skin color in our criminal justice system, we present you with the youths convicted by Morgenthau's deputies in the Central Park Jogger case. Those Black youths served their full sentences for crimes that they did not commit, and when Morgenthau asked a judge to vacate their sentences and remove them from the sex offender rolls, the prosecutors who worked to wrongly convict these Black youths opposed Morgenthau's efforts to correct a terrible injustice. 

There are too many lessons to address here, but we offer a hearty congratulations to Robert Morgenthau for a career of which any of us would be proud.  At age 89, we wish him a long and fulfilling retirement.

Voters will chose the Democratic nominee seeking to replace Morgenthau in September.  We will offer our views on his potential successors in the months ahead.  The Manhattan District Attorney is extremely powerful and influential, and we must choose wisely. We will seek a nominee who will bring the fairness and integrity that Robert Morgenthau brought and who will aggressively advocate the repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws while respecting the people of Upper Manhattan. We are eager to support candidates who demonstrate those qualities.

Fallen Giant - Bill Tatum

Bill Tatum died last week.  He was the longtime publisher of the Amsterdam News before turning that job over to his daughter in 1997, and he remained the owner of the paper at the time of his death. Bill Tatum was a leader in Upper Manhattan and throughout the United States and remains an inspiration to so many people from so many geographies and backgrounds. He was appropriately remembered in the press, by the Mayor, and by so many others. We send our prayers of comfort to his family and thank him and them for being voices for Black people, employers of Black people, and successful Black businesspeople so that the next generation can grow up knowing not to let others limit their aspirations.

Scott Stringer's Food Fight For Manhattan

On this Presidents' Day, we see that our local President, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, is once again the leading voice on a crucial local issue that has been overlooked by many others. This time the topic is Food.

Earlier this month, Stringer took his Food Fight to the next level by publishing his information-rich Food in the Public Interest report. http://mbpo.org/uploads/foodinthepublicinterest.pdf The report addresses the importance of food as a driver of the health of our fellow residents, and it looks carefully at our local agricultural community, its relevance, and mechanisms for protecting and strengthening the agricultural activity in and around New York City. The report also discusses hunger prevention in our city, which is particularly relevant during this period of economic stress and high unemployment. We applaud each element of the report, and we highlight for you the connection between the food that we consume as NYC residents and the quality of health we enjoy as a result.

Fat City

New York City has already shown leadership in its ban on transfats in our restaurants and in its 2008 establishment of the requirement that all restaurants with at least 15 locations nationwide post the calories contained in each item on their menus. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/nyregion/17calorie.html Yet, it seems that much more must be done. We are starting this food fight with the trends working against us. The rate of obesity and the rate of diabetes each increased 17% between 2002 and 2004 according to Stringer's Food Report.

Manhattan Borough President Stringer's report also alerts us that, amazingly, most of New York City's adults are overweight or obese http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/survey/survey-2005obesity.pdf, and that a direct correlation has been demonstrated between the parts of New York City with the lowest levels of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and the parts of our city that have the highest levels of obesity. Unfortunately, Upper Manhattan is near the top of the list of the areas affected by both the lack of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and the abundance of obesity. As stated in the Borough President's report, one in six restaurants in Central Harlem and East Harlem serves fast food, while the number is only one in twenty-five restaurants on the Upper East Side. Upper Manhattan is in desperate need of greater availability of high quality fresh food, and our local Community Boards can use their land use approval authority to encourage such greater availability.

We caution our fellow New Yorkers to remember that weight is not always a good proxy for physical health. Men and women in excellent physical condition with an abundance of muscle and very low levels of fat will often be deemed overweight or even obese based on government guidelines. http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressrelease_detail.cfm?release=86 Will Smith and Andy Roddick would be considered overweight, and Sly Stallone and Mel Gibson would be considered obese under the current government definitions. http://www.bmiscale.com/ Each of those four celebrities should be envied in terms of their apparent physical health, but the government guidelines use only height and weight for the overweight and obese labels. Individuals with large amounts of muscle don't fit well into the guidelines.

With that caution stated, it is clear that we need to improve the overall health in all communities within NYC. Upper Manhattan includes many of the neighborhoods in our city that need the most attention and have the most work to do to achieve better health.

Recommendations

Nutrition education is a key component of overcoming the negative health trends that are affecting our city's residents. Borough President Stringer makes a number of innovative and thought-provoking recommendations in his report. The recommendations range from local actions to national policies. Amongst them:

(1) Encourage the consumption of healthy food in place of junk food
• Encourage New York City government agencies to continue reducing the amount of unhealthy and processed food served
• Encourage private and nonprofit entities to replace junk food with healthy options through grants, tenant improvement funds, tax breaks, access to low interest loans, or applicable licenses and permit processes
(2) Expand nutrition education campaigns through public service announcements, subway advertisements, etc.
(3) Develop an ongoing collaboration between nutrition experts and the city’s education and youth agencies to improve nutrition education in public schools and after-school programs
(4) Advocate for an increase in the per pupil federal reimbursement rate for school meals, which would allow for upgrades to school kitchens, improved training for staff, and the purchase of healthier unprocessed ingredients
(5) Encourage employers to promote nutrition education and healthy eating practices in the workplace by creating an online clearinghouse of information to assist employers with implementing worksite health and wellness policies
(6) Offer incentives through private insurance, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, and Medicare, for healthy weight and lifestyles, such as coverage for gym memberships and counseling for obesity