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BY: FOOD & WINE
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLELast year, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s choice to not weigh in on California’s foie gras ban led people to speculate that the battle was finally over, you’d have been wise to think that no, it’s definitely not. In fact, as soon as the Supreme Court announced its decision to keep the ban in place, the plaintiffs fighting it announced they’d continue their efforts. And they have, but without a ton of success. This week, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled again that the ban would be upheld.
“The latest challenge essentially recycled previous claims made by foie gras producers,” explained Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society, which supported the ruling. “The court, however, saw right through their tired arguments, finding that on the Commerce Clause claim the plaintiffs had brought ‘substantially the same challenges they brought up in the first case’ and that ‘the developed record does little to change our previous analysis.’”
And yet, even in defeat, the Catskill Foie Gras Collection—a consortium of duck farmers in Sullivan County, New York, and Canada working to overturn the ban—once again focused on a sliver of hope. “The court denied the challengers’ motion and granted California motion but gave the challengers 21 days to amend their claims as to foie gras products that are imported to California after being sold online,” the group wrote in a statement. “The challengers will appeal this latest ruling but, in the meantime, continue to look forward to having their day in court—and to proving the facts that will establish once and for all that the California ban is invalid and unconstitutional.”
After years of back and forth (the law took effect in 2012), it would seem unlikely at this point that the ban will be changed by future legal challenges; however, the plaintiffs are clearly ready to keep the battle alive by any avenue they can get—even if its focusing on something such as online sales. “This fight is not merely about foie gras, this is about our liberty to choose what we eat and for duck farmers like myself, it is also about our right to make a living,” Sergio Saravia, president of LaBelle Farms, a New York-based producer. “We will keep fighting to dispel all the misperceptions about our Farming practices and to uphold our rights as farmers and also uphold the rights of consumers in terms of their food choice.”
In the end, just because a court ruling can change the law doesn’t mean it can change people’s minds. That’s especially true when it comes to duck and goose liver.
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BY: JOHN LELAND
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEThe foie gras truffle torchon at the Beatrice Inn in Greenwich Village is a decadent indulgence: four discs of silky duck-liver mousse paired with triangles of buttery toast, all arranged on a silver platter. The appetizer goes for $28 — a gateway, perhaps, to the menu’s $375 Porterhouse steak. The restaurant serves about 200 pounds of foie gras a week.
Read more via the link above…
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BY: JEREMY REPANICH
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEIn New York City, despite the fact one side has appeared to have conclusively won the war, the foie gras battles continue to rage on.
Back at the end of the October, New York’s City Council voted to ban the sale of the fatty goose and duck liver by a vote of 42-6; outlawing the delicacy starting in 2022. While animal rights activists rejoiced, gourmands and duck farmers in the Hudson Valley cried foul (Or did they cry fowl? Sorry, that’s terrible, we’ll stop).
It was the latest defeat for fans of foie gras, after California’s longtime on-again, off-again prohibition finally went into effect for good this past January, 15 years after the state legislature originally passed it. But New Yorkers are not going out quietly.
Since the Council vote, foie gras sales in the Big Apple are up 20 to 30 percent, reports the New York Post. Some attribute the rise to defiance in the face of the ban. “Once people read about it, those who love foie gras or have it occasionally say, ‘Let’s go have some foie gras.’ It’s almost a political statement to politicians—stay off of my dinner table,” said Georgette Farkas, owner of Rotisserie Georgette told the Post.
Ariane Daguin of specialty food purveyor D’Artagnan also told the newspaper that her company saw a 30 percent uptick in sales of foie gras in the past couple months, as people enjoy the delicacy while they still can.
Despite the bill’s overwhelming passage, there were chefs speaking out against it before the vote. “We’re opposed to the ban,” Arjuna Bull of Luthun told Robb Report when the council first debated the bill in the summer. “It’s quite an exquisite ingredient. We love to eat it, we love to work with it. It’s so versatile. All the chefs we know are opposed to [the ban].”
Some New Yorkers are hopeful that the war isn’t actually over. Unlike California’s ban, which the Supreme Court decided to not hear an appeal that could repeal it, New York City’s law may not withstand a challenge in court because the city may not have oversight in this area. However, it appears people aren’t taking any risks and they’re making sure to enjoy foie in the city while they still can.
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BY: MELANIE GRAYCE WEST
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLENew York duck farmers have appealed to state officials for help in blocking a New York City law that bans the sale of foie gras in restaurants and shops.
Hudson Valley Foie Gras, one of the state’s largest producers of the specialty product, said it plans to file a notice this week with the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets seeking a formal review of the city’s law, which was signed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in November.
Foie gras, or fattened duck or goose liver, is made by force-feeding the birds several times daily to expand their livers beyond their normal size before slaughter. Animal-rights activists and City Council members have said the process is inhumane. Foie gras is served in several high-end restaurants, including Manhattan’s Tocqueville and Eleven Madison Park.
The city’s ban would make the delicacy illegal in the city by 2022.
According to a spokesman for Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the city’s law will prohibit the sale of its primary product in its largest market, causing a loss of some $9 million a year in sales from its $28 million business. New York City is the largest market for foie gras.
A farm in an agricultural district can submit to the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets a request for the review of a local law that it believes may unreasonably restrict the farm’s operation, according to state regulations.
The plan to send a formal request to review the law follows a letter that Sergio Saravia, president of La Belle Farms, sent on Friday to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
In his letter, Mr. Saravia asked the governor for help in overturning the ban, which “deals a fatal blow to the duck farmers of New York State.”
“What right do city legislators have in passing laws that affect rural businesses outside the city limits?” wrote Mr. Saravia. “We believe this ban violates the Agricultural Districts Law in New York that specifically protects farmers against bills like this one which unreasonably restrict farm operations.”
A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo deferred comment on the letter to the Department of Agriculture and Markets. A spokeswoman for that agency said the department is reviewing the situation.
“Once the Department receives the formal request for a review of this local law, we will determine whether it is in the scope of our powers and what the next steps will be,” said the spokeswoman.
Hudson Valley-area duck farmers are among the few U.S. producers of foie gras. A challenge to the city’s law was expected.
Animal-rights activists and City Council members have said the practice is inhumane.
Jeremy Unger, a spokesman for Carlina Rivera, a Manhattan Democrat who championed the legislation, said that the law will stand up to any challenge.
“Supporters of force-feeding, which is one of the cruelest practices taking place in our nation’s food industry, have tried for years to legally end California’s ban to no avail, and we are happy that it will be coming to a similar end soon in New York City,” said Mr. Unger.
—Jimmy Vielkind contributed to this article
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BY: BERNADETTE HOGAN
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEUpstate duck farmers are begging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to intervene and stop the City Council’s recent ban on the sale of foie gras — the controversial duck delicacy that’s enraged animal rights activists.
Starting in 2022, all sales of the French delicacy will be illegal, with violators facing up to $2,000 in penalties.
But Sergio Saravia, president of La Belle Farms in the Hudson Valley dubs the move “a fatal blow” to over 400 duck farmers statewide.
“It’s sad to think Mayor de Blasio signed a bill that was based mostly on misinformation and lies about how ducks are raised and processed at our New York facilities,” Saravia wrote in a letter obtained by The Post Thursday.
“Neither de Blasio, nor the council members nor special interest groups bothered to visit our farms, and see our production methods, before crafting their legislation.”
Animal rights activists were up in arms about the crude feeding method, as ducks are force-fed to plump up their livers.
But Saravia said he’s invented a “gentler” approach that’s been accepted in France and perhaps soon in Guatemala. City politicians have no business trouncing on farmers’ rights Saravia said, citing a section of agricultural law protecting farmers from legislation that “unreasonably restricts their farm operation.”
“What right do city legislators have in passing laws that affect rural businesses outside the city limits? This is a clear case of legislative overreach, and is going to strip away the livelihood of hundreds of upstate workers associated with our farming business,” he added.
A spokesman for Gov. Cuomo said the matter rests with the state Department of Agriculture.
“We have received the letter referenced and are reviewing the situation. Once the Department receives the formal request for a review of this local law, we will determine whether it is in the scope of our powers and what the next steps will be,” said DOA spokeswoman Jola Szubielski.
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BY: BRIDGET HALLINAN
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEFoie gras, the fattened liver from a duck or goose, has long been controversial due to animal cruelty concerns. And, as of last week, it looks like it’s going to be banned in New York City.
City Council voted 42-6 to pass bill 1378—first introduced by Councilwoman Carlina Rivera in January—which prohibits storing, maintaining, selling, or offering to sell force-fed products or food containing a force-fed product. There are hefty fines in place for violators, too, ranging from $500 to $2,000 per offense. Although it has yet to be signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, he’s expected to approve it, meaning that restaurants have until 2022 before they have to remove foie gras from their kitchens.
“We also acknowledge that farms need time to adapt their business practices and strategies before this ban goes into effect,” Rivera previously told Food & Wine. “That’s why there is now a three year phase-in for the legislation that will allow these farms, which produce a wide variety of other duck products, to increase production and develop business opportunities in other regions and states. I also encourage all foie gras-producing farms, many of which purport to use sustainable practices, to pursue other methods of foie gras production, such as those done by farmers in Spain that employ different methods using highly dense foods.”
According to The New York Times, there are around 1,000 restaurants in New York that serve foie gras, and the city is one of the country’s largest markets. It makes up 30 percent of business alone for Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farm, which are part of the Catskill Foie Gras Collective—the collective’s website claims that farms in the Catskills employ “approximately 400 people.”
Marco Moreira, executive chef of Tocqueville near Union Square, told Food & Wine he feels the bill is targeting these local farms and “potentially forcing these small businesses to close,” causing working immigrants to lose their jobs. He was shocked that it went through, and he felt that a “more productive and impactful approach” would be for the Council to go after industrial farming.
“For NYC, I think it will leave a big hole,” he said. “Not having foie gras diminishes a guest’s experience and expectation in those restaurants where they have always indulged in it. It’s as if the letters were taken out of the alphabet. How can one enjoy writing or reading with missing letters?”
Angie Mar, owner and executive chef at the Beatrice Inn in the West Village, is also frustrated by the bill. Foie gras is very popular among her customers—the restaurant’s autumn menu features diver sea scallop served with pistachio, foie gras, and browned butter, as well as a foie gras truffle torchon and alliums and foie gras served with country bread, Comte, and smoked bouillon.
“Foie gras is a prominent ingredient across my menu, and one that I love ardently,” she said. “I always say that I am a very old French man at heart, and foie gras is something that I dream about, that I crave, that I think people should experience, and experience frequently.”
Mar hopes that the ban will serve as a wake-up call for industry professionals to become more educated on the ingredients they use and speak up about best practices.
There’s always the chance that New York could follow suit with Chicago, where a foie gras ban was passed in 2006 and repealed two years later. But if it doesn’t, Mar plans on serving it anyway, “even if that means giving it away, as so many chefs in other cities have done.”
Foie gras is also banned in California under a law first signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 29, 2004, which prohibits “force feed[ing] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size,” as well as selling products that result from that process.
Similarly to the terms proposed in the New York bill, the ban went into effect well after it was passed—in this case, nearly eight years later on July 1, 2012. It was in flux for a while as judges debated the legality of the regulations. But when the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal opposing the bill this past January, it appears the ban has finally stuck for good. And by now, local chefs are used to it.
Michael Cimarusti, the co-owner and chef at Providence in Los Angeles, says he doesn’t really miss foie gras that much—it’s an ingredient you don’t need to have around, and to him, it’s not worth the hassle of serving it and risking fines. (California’s fines for violating the ban are up to $1,000 per day.)
Right before the ban want into effect, Cimarusti noticed a huge influx of foie gras orders at his restaurant, so he expects that New York chefs might experience something similar. But as time went on, the foie gras hype died down.
“I think people missed it for a while, but I also think most guests and restaurateurs quickly sort of forgot about it,” he said. “That’s kind of the way I feel. I’m sure there are other people who lament the loss more than I do, but it’s not there any more, it’s not something that we can legally serve. It’s fine.”
Josiah Citrin, the chef behind several California restaurants including Mélisse and Charcoal Venice, also says that the ban is something you get used to, although he misses working with foie gras.
“I miss that creativity coming out, like, ‘it’s coming up on apple season, what can we do different? It’s quince season. It’s pumpkin season.’ Different kinds of sweet things that would go with foie gras,” Citrin explained. “I miss that creative passion for it, the excitement of finding new products to [pair] with the foie gras. Are people not going to go out to eat because of that? I don’t think so. But I think we’ve banned something for a very small majority of people that want it banned.”
Both Citrin and Cimarusti said that foie gras was a low-hanging fruit for the state to try to ban—it has limited production compared to other meat consumed, and a smaller lobby board. Not to mention, Citrin continued, a small amount of people eat it and it sounds gross, so it makes the process easy. He wonders what activists will tackle next.
“What’s the next thing they’re going to go after?” He said. “Chicken, beef? When you win one, you go to the next battle.”
As we wait for de Blasio to sign the bill, it remains to be seen how New York’s foie gras ban will fare—especially once 2022 rolls around and the fines take effect. Will it be a long contested battle, like California’s? Quickly repealed, like Chicago’s? Or another experience entirely? Either way, chefs may have to prepare for taking it off their menus, whether they like it or not.
“Nobody relies on foie gras for sustenance,” Cimarusti said. “Unless you are a duck farmer, this isn’t going to shut down your business or anything. It’s just one ingredient in a world of many that you just aren’t allowed to cook with anymore.”
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BY: SAM DANGREMOND
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEn Wednesday, New York City Council passed legislation to ban the sale of foie gras in the city, a move that will affect about 1,000 restaurants that have the delicacy on their menu, as well as the farms that supply them.
The law was passed because of animal cruelty concerns over the treatment of geese and ducks whose fattened livers become foie gras. The traditional way of making foie gras or fattened liver is gavage, the forced feeding of ducks or geese. Carlina Rivera, a Manhattan councilwoman who sponsored the foie gras legislation, told the New York Times that her bill “tackles the most inhumane process” in the food industry. She called gavage “one of the most violent practices.”
Ariane Daguin, the CEO and founder of the foie gras supplier , says that is incorrect. Like many farmers and others in the industry, she argues that the practice is not, in fact, cruel.
“The premise of this legislation that the process is inhumane is not supported by fact or research—NOT ONE Council member has made any effort to learn about this process and all have refused to visit the farms to understand the process first-hand,” Daguin, whose annual foie gras sales to New York chefs amount to $15 million (about 10% of the business), said in a statement to Town & Country.
“A New York City foie gras ban will cost more than 400 immigrant workers their jobs and chance at the American dream,” Daguin said. “If humane treatment is truly the issue here, we should be looking at factory-farm practices first before we shut down small farms.”
John Winterman, a co-owner of Bâtard in Tribeca, who is opening a brasserie tentatively named Francie in Williamsburg next year, says the foie gras debate is “a continuing battle because it’s a misunderstood product.”
“A lot of the weapons the anti-foie gras groups use are outdated videos, and that’s not the way things are done, especially at a lot of the farms in this country,” Winterman said. “If the farms were really treating their animals poorly, they wouldn’t be in business because it’s important for chefs to be ethical.”
Le Coucou‘s chef and partner Daniel Rose agrees. “I love foie gras,” Rose told T&C. “At the same time, I believe that using it requires some understanding of where it comes from, how it is made, and that there should absolutely be some minimum quality involved in its production—as there should be for all food. The free market will inevitably try to produce everything for less and whether it is vitamins or ducks, something will suffer on the way if left to the pressure of the market to produce less expensive food.”
“Can we say that feeding people high-fructose corn syrup, food dyes, excessive amounts of salt, pesticides, or other additives causes less suffering than the production of foie gras?,” he asked rhetorically. “What about the production of low cost chickens and other animals? I don’t know, but I don’t think we have asked all of the meaningful questions and considered enough opinions to start banning individual food items without core principals and processes guiding our decisions.”
Rose said that “if banning foie gras in New York generates a conversation about the state of food in America and the treatment of animals in general then I’m all for it.” He will have to change some of his menu at Le Coucou when the ban takes effect but added that “there is certainly enough depth in the French repertoire to cook without it.”
Other chefs were more vocal in their opposition.
“This is idiocracy,” Momofuku chef David Chang tweeted. “Stupid short sighted and a misunderstanding of the situation.”
Dave Chang
@davidchang
This is Idiocracy…fucking fuck https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-29/nyc-gourmets-craving-foie-gras-may-need-to-look-elsewhere …
New York City Moves to Ban Foie Gras
New York’s City Council is on the verge of banning sales of foie gras in gourmet stores and restaurants, a move its members say will help end inhumane force-feeding of ducks and geese to obtain their…
bloomberg.com
Ken Oringer, a James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner at Toro in Manhattan, called the ban “ridiculous.” Oringer told the Associated Press that he had been to the farms in upstate New York that produce foie gras “and they operate with the utmost integrity to their farm animals.”
“Food choice is everything and the beauty of our country is that we can make the choice to eat what we want to eat,” Oringer added.
Other cities and states have passed—and repealed—similar legislation. In 2006, Chicago became the first American city to pass a foie gras ban. Two years later, the city’s mayor, Richard M. Daley, called it the “silliest” law the city had ever passed and successfully led an effort to have the ban overturned.
California banned foie gras in 2012. It was overturned in 2015 but a federal appeals court reinstated it in 2017. This past January, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge, allowing the prohibition to take effect.
Perhaps the legislative turmoil is a sign of what’s to come in New York. Winterman, for one, is not convinced the ban will take effect. “A lot can happen in three years,” he said. He plans to include foie gras on his new restaurant’s menu.
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BY: SHARYN JACKSON
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLENew York City lawmakers passed a bill banning foie gras yesterday, and while many restaurants had already eliminated the fatty duck liver for animal welfare reasons, others will have to adapt to a foie-less future come 2022, when the ban goes into effect.
In the Twin Cities, it’s still legal to sell foie gras at a restaurant, and you can find it on many menus, especially those with French tendencies. A look into our archive shows terrines, tournedos and torchons of the liver abound. Here is a random sample of the spots where you can get your foie gras fix.
(These dishes might not all be current, so if you’re really hankering for stuff, be sure to give the restaurant a call first.)
Grand Cafe
3804 Grand Av. S., Mpls., 612-822-8260, grandcafemn.com
Chef Jamie Malone came up with the Foie Gras Royale with Crème Gitanes (right) — although it was the pastry on the left, the chicken liver Paris Brest, that was named Dish of the Year 2018 by Food & Wine.
Parlour St. Paul
267 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-207-4433, parlourbar.com
The terrine of foie gras with preserved berries.
Bellecour
739 Lake St. E., Wayzata, 952-444-5200, bellecourrestaurant.com
Tournedos Rossini at Gavin Kaysen’s Bellecour is made with tenderloin, foie gras and black truffle jus.
Tenant
4300 Bryant Av. S., Mpls., 612-827-8111, tenantmpls.com
A one-time menu at Tenant included a first course of chopped chicken livers, foie gras mousse, prunes and apples and potato chips.
Bar La Grassa
800 Washington Av. N., Mpls., 612-333-3837, barlagrassa.com
The Italian restaurant makes a foie gras tortellini.
P.S. Steak
510 Groveland Av., Mpls., 612-886-1620, psmpls.com
The current menu offers seared foie gras as a $22 “accessory” to any dish.
Spoon and Stable
211 N. 1st St., Mpls., 612-224-9850, spoonandstable.com
Kaysen’s dinner menu features an appetizer of roasted foie gras, or a $12 enhancement to his Dorothy’s Pot Roast.
Bachelor Farmer
50 2nd Av. N., Mpls., 612-206-3920, thebachelorfarmer.com
Its charred golden beets appetizer comes with shaved foie gras.
The Lexington
1096 Grand Av., St. Paul, 651-289-4990, thelexmn.com
A dish of liver and onions is made with seared foie gras. There are also duck and foie meatballs in stroganoff.
Restaurant Alma
528 University Av. SE., Mpls., 612-379-4909, almampls.com
Foie gras bread pudding comes with the roasted chicken.
Butcher and the Boar
1121 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-238-8888, butcherandtheboar.com
Add foie gras to any steak for $20.
Cafe and Bar Lurcat
1624 Harmon Place, Mpls., 612-486-5500, cafelurcat.com
A foie gras panna cotta — with strawberry, pine nut granola and Saba — is served as an appetizer.
Esker Grove
723 Vineland Place, Mpls., 612-375-7542, eskergrove.com
A starter of tuna crudo comes with foie gras, plum and Urfa pepper.
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BY: MELANIE GRAYCE WEST
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEA committee of the New York City Council unanimously approved a bill banning the sale of foie gras in the city, a measure that pits farmers against animal-rights activists and ultimately affects a small number of the city’s high-end restaurants and food purveyors.
The measure was part of animal-welfare legislation approved by the committee, which included a bill prohibiting the trafficking of wild birds, including pigeons, and a measure prohibiting carriage horses from working when the temperature is higher than 90 degrees.
The full council is expected to vote on the foie gras legislation Wednesday.
City Councilman Mark Levine, a Manhattan Democrat, acknowledged that the passage of the animal-welfare legislation would affect businesses. “But as society evolves, we have a right to expect that business practices evolve as well,” he said.
City Councilwoman Alicka Ampry-Samuel, a Democrat representing Brooklyn, approved the measures, but said it was a difficult vote because the legislation might affect the livelihood of many people and businesses.
“It’s quite difficult in one sense to protect animals and, in another sense, cause harm for just everyday people who live in New York,” she said.
Duck farms in and around the Hudson Valley are among the few U.S. producers of foie gras, which is fattened duck or goose liver. The luxury product is made by force-feeding the birds multiple times daily to expand their livers several times their normal size before slaughter.
Farmers say the birds are raised on small farms in a stress-free and comfortable environment and that the feeding process doesn’t cause discomfort. Animal-rights activists say the force-feeding practice is inhumane.
Sergio Saravia, secretary of the Catskill Foie Gras Collective, an advocacy group representing farms, said that hundreds of jobs and millions in revenue will be lost as a result of the City Council legislation. New Yorkers, he said, will lose the right to choose what they can eat.
The legislation, said Mr. Saravia, “is an unfair assault on local farmers based on misinformation from animal-rights activists.”
Write to Melanie Grayce West at melanie.west@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The Catskill Foie Gras Collective opposes a New York City Council proposal to ban the sale of foie gras. An earlier version of this article incorrectly called the group the Hudson Valley Foie Gras Collective. (Oct. 29, 2019)
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BY: RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLEThe City Council appears set to say au revoir to foie gras.
Following a summer of contentious hearings and demonstrations, the City Council is expected to vote to ban the fattened liver meat, which is made through the controversial force-feeding of either ducks or geese.
The council’s Committee on Health voted 6–0 for a package of animal welfare bills on Tuesday morning, including a ban on foie gras produced through force-feeding.
“I am incredibly proud that this City Council has belatedly and thankfully begun to put empathy for the suffering of animals front and center on our agenda,” said Mark Levine, the northern Manhattan Democrat who chairs the committee.
Also included with the foie gras bill are measures that would limit when horse carriages can operate and increase penalties for trafficking wild birds.
The foie gras bill’s author, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, said she is trying to create a “more humane city” by outlawing the meat. She is taking up the cause of animal rights groups who say the force-feeding methods required for the meat constitute animal torture. Voters for Animal Rights, a Brooklyn-based advocacy group in favor of the ban, announced plans for a rally before tomorrow’s vote to support the package of bills.
Opposition to the ban has come most strongly from farmers upstate, who say they use methods that are humane and well-monitored. Two duck farms in Sullivan County, about 110 miles from Manhattan, produce the majority of foie gras consumed in the United States. The owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, one of the two farms, told Crain’s this summer that the city represents about a third of Hudson Valley Foie Gras’ sales. Coupled with a statewide ban in California, the farmers believe the latest ban could doom the entire U.S. industry.
Elected officials in Sullivan County have warned their Big Apple counterparts that the ban would take away jobs and tax revenue from the county of about 75,000 people.
Levine acknowledged that many of the bills could hurt businesses. “As society evolves, we have a right to expect that business practices evolve as well,” he added.
Councilwoman Alicka Ampry-Samuel voted in favor of the bills but said she was concerned about implications for people working in industries affected by the laws.
“As a council, we should be in the business of making sure we don’t destroy folks who are working every day without having some type of plan to make sure that, three years from now, they can still have some level of viable business,” the Brooklyn Democrat said.
The law would take effect three years after its passage and carry a penalty between $500 and $2,000 per violation.
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