NYC Councilman Proposes Limiting Fast Food

In a town where you can get a slice of pizza or a hot dog on nearly every block, one city councilman wants to limit the number of fast food restaurants as a way to fight obesity.

Councilman Joel Rivera, health committee chairman, said at a hearing Wednesday he was exploring the idea of using zoning laws to prevent fast food joints from taking over city streets. More than half of adult New Yorkers are overweight or obese.

"You're not going to totally eliminate fast food restaurants, but you could limit the amount," Rivera said after the hearing.

He said there is a high concentration of fast food eateries in low-income communities, and suggested that might to contribute to obesity rates, which also tend to be greater in those areas.

Rivera said he plans to hold hearings on the matter _ particularly to explore whether New York City zoning laws could be tweaked so specifically.

Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy and planning at New York University, said it's unlikely any zoning resolution could dictate that level of detail. The zoning code for eating and drinking establishments does not distinguish types of food.

"And in a city like New York, where everybody is on the run, it's very hard to single out what is and isn't fast food," Moss added.