Proposed rule could cost NYC pizza joints a lot of dough

(NewsNation) — A proposed rule on carbon emissions could cost New York City pizzerias a lot of dough.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is drafting new rules for restaurants with coal and wood-fired ovens in an effort to cut carbon emissions by up to 75%, the New York Post reports.

The proposed mandate would reportedly force restaurants with coal and wood-fired ovens installed before 2016 to hire someone to look into whether emission controls devices could be installed with the intended result of a 75% reduction in emissions. Costly equipment, assessments and upkeep could be required.

The city told The Post less than 100 restaurants would be impacted by the rule, but some restauranteurs say the equipment could cost them a fortune.

The owner of New York’s Paulie Gee’s Pizzeria paid roughly $20,000 for the equipment before the COVID-19 pandemic. He expects the cost to have increased since then.

“If I was going to open up a pizzeria today, I would not open up a wood-fired or coal-fired pizzeria because of the extra costs,” Paulie told NewsNation host Leland Vittert. “That’s almost twice as much as the oven I installed.”

Paulie said his pizza tastes the same since his oven can still reach 1,000 degrees.

“You need a high temperature and I’m still able to get that. So, it’s not that. It’s the expense. That’s the issue,” Paulie said.

When asked if he thought the emissions from his pizza oven would really make a difference, Paulie said it would be like a “drop in the ocean.

“In terms of the climate, I don’t think so. There are other ways to accomplish that. There’s hundreds of thousands of vehicles in New York. We’re talking about 100 pizza ovens.”

New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, has a different view.

In a statement to FOX5 New York, the NYC DEP said: “All New Yorkers deserve to breathe healthy air, and wood and coal-fired stoves are among the largest contributors of harmful pollutants in neighborhoods with poor air quality. This common-sense rule, developed with restaurant and environmental justice groups, requires a professional review of whether installing emission controls is feasible.”

No matter which way you slice it, the proposed rules have not been put into place yet.