Restaurant Owners Ready For Hearing On Trans Fat Ban

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

New York City restaurant owners are getting ready to make their case against Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed trans fat ban and are vowing to be out in “full force” next week for the first hearing on the issue.

The president of the Latino Restaurant Association, Louis Nunez, said yesterday the city did not do enough to spread the word that it wanted restaurants to voluntarily curb trans fats on their menus before pushing the ban.

“None of my members received letters,” Mr. Nunez said, referring to a letter the city sent out last year. “I would say 98% of the public didn’t know about this until the city announced the ban.”

“What will happen is that a lot of my members will be targeted, will be ticketed as cash cows,” he said.

Mr. Nunez is among those preparing for next week’s Board of Health hearing, the first chance New Yorkers will have to officially air their support or concerns on getting rid of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

The president of the New York State Restaurant Association, Charles Hunt, said the issue should be taken up by the City Council, not the board, which is made up of mayoral appointees. That argument is likely to be made by many opponents at the October 30 hearing. Board members serve six-year terms and cannot be removed by the mayor once appointed. Mr. Hunt said he was “trying to marshal as large a grassroots effort as we can.”

Mr. Bloomberg and his health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, made national headlines last month when they announced plans to force restaurants in the five boroughs to eliminate virtually all trans fats because of the health risks.

The proposed ban is the Bloomberg administration’s most aggressive health policy since the smoking ban, which was also crafted by Dr. Frieden.

Some public health officials, who say that trans fats drastically increase the chances of heart attacks, have praised the initiative. But opponents outside the public health field have rebuked it too saying it will be a financial burden on restaurants and arguing that the mayor has no place making such a mandate.

Some also worry that the board will just rubber stamp the proposal. A spokesman for the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Andrew Tucker, said: “The proposals are in the public comment period, and we encourage people to voice their opinion.”


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use