Howard Husock s Turning Food Deserts Into Oases Why...

Howard Husock’s report â€Å"Turning Food Deserts into Oases – Why New York’s Public Housing Should Encourage Commercial Development† was published by the Manhattan Institute and selected for this reaction paper. The report tells us about the incentives offered in New York City (NYC) to provide access to fresh food for an affordable price in low-income neighborhoods. Husock also discusses the shortage of supermarkets in NYC, New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA’s) historical anti-commercial bias, NYCHA’s food deserts, changing NYCHA food deserts into oases, and the commercial rent revenue NYCHA could make from commercial development on NYCHA property. According to the report, tax, financial, and zoning incentives have been offered to attract supermarkets to low-income areas since 2009 via a program called FRESH – Food Retail Expansion to Support Health. The FRESH program was established after a 2008 report â€Å"Going to Market: New York City’s Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage† confirmed that there was a shortage of supermarkets in NYC mostly because there is no space available to build and low-income neighborhoods, where many NYCHA properties are, is where supermarkets are needed the most. Also, zoning prohibit stores larger than 10,000 feet from being built without special permits and public review. For perspective, the definition of a supermarket shortage is helpful and is when there is less than 3 square feet of supermarket floor space per capita. The