Article 5-General Permit Provisions

Statement of Basis and Purpose

Statutory Authority

These amendments to the New York City Health Code (the “Health Code”) are issued in accordance with §§556, 558 and 1043 of the New York City Charter (the “Charter”).

·         Section 556 of the Charter provides the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the “Department”) with authority to regulate all matters affecting health in the City of New York.

·         Section 558(b) and (c) of the Charter empower the Board of Health (the “Board”) to amend the Health Code and to include in the Health Code all matters over which the Department has authority.

·         Section 1043 of the Charter gives the Department rulemaking powers.

Basis and purpose of the amendment

The Commissioner currently issues permits for temporary food service establishments (TFSE) to operate for up to 14 days at a time. These permits currently cost $20.00. Each time a TFSE wants to operate at a new venue, a new permit is required. In practice, however, the Department has observed an increasing number of operators who obtain this permit and operate every weekend, at recurring events, or at many different events throughout the City during any given year.

The Department is proposing that the Board:

·         change the TFSE permit to an annual permit, rather than to an event-specific 14-day permit, to reflect how these permits are actually used, and,

·         raise the fee for this permit from $20.00 to $70.00 to reflect the administrative costs of issuing individual permits.

While the price of the permit will go up, operators will be in a position to save money by purchasing one annual permit at $70.00 rather than multiple event-specific permits at $20.00 each. Although an annual permit will be issued, any operator of a TFSE who wishes to participate in any street or other event must still obtain the permission of the event sponsor, and comply with all other applicable provisions of the Health Code and other law.

Specifically, the Department is requesting that the Board amend Article 5 (General Permit Provisions) by raising the fee for a permit for a temporary food service establishment (TFSE) from $20.00 to $70.00.  The Department will also exercise the authority granted it by the Board in December 2009 when the Board amended Article 88 of the Health Code and authorized the Department to issue an annual TFSE permit fee, based on the fact that many TFSEs operate at events that recur throughout the year, more than 14 days at a time, and sometimes every weekend.