New NYC rule forces wood, coal-fired pizzerias to install device to reduce oven emissions

New York City pizzerias can still bake their pies in traditional wood- and coal-fired ovens, but most of those ovens will now have to come with emission control devices, under a regulation that went into effect last weekend.

The new rule from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection requires ovens installed before May 6, 2016, be retrofitted to include a device called a flue exhaust to reduce odors, smoke and particulate pollution released when wood or coal are burned by at least 75%. About 90 to 100 restaurants in the city, many of them pizzerias or matzo bakeries, are affected by the rule. Ovens installed after May 2016 were already required to have the devices.

“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,” the department said in a statement. “This common-sense rule was developed with restaurant owners and environmental justice groups and is a product of years of review. We are confident that these critical upgrades will allow us to cut harmful emissions and prioritize New Yorkers’ health, while preserving authentic New York City pizza.”

Restaurant owners who cannot afford to install the device or can’t because their space won't fit the upgrades can seek a waiver requiring them to identify other ways to reduce emissions by at least 25%. There have been no waiver requests yet, a department representative said.

Similar regulations seemed unlikely for Long Island, which does not have many restaurants that advertise themselves as cooking with coal- or wood-fired ovens.

“Here in Nassau your local pizza place will continue to be able to make your pie the same way they have been for decades,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. A spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine did not respond to a request for comment.

The ovens are a troublesome source of air pollution, often overlooked except by those who live near them, said Eric Goldstein, senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council.

“These very small, black, sooty particles can elude the body’s defense mechanisms and penetrate deeply into the lungs,” he said. “It’s particularly a problem in New York City where pizza oven exhausts are sometimes only located yards away from the next-door apartment building.”

While particle pollution is more often associated with coal-fired power plants or vehicle traffic, “there are larger sources and there are smaller sources,” said Michael Seilback, the American Lung Association’s assistant vice president for nationwide advocacy. “Reduce pollution from many different sources of combustion and you’re going to make an impact on air quality.”

Haley Lyon, a representative for Grimaldi's, which has a location in Dumbo, Brooklyn, forwarded a statement from the pizzeria that said, “While Grimaldi’s Pizzeria remains committed to the century-old pizza making traditions of using coal fired brick-ovens, we will fully comply with all city and state ordinances. We are currently working with the city to ensure compliance with all carbon emission guidelines, while remaining steadfast in our commitment to preserving the same signature Grimaldi’s crust that our guests have come to know and love.”

Others in the restaurant business questioned the wisdom of the rule. Rafiq Salim, owner of Rolo’s, a wood-fired bar and grill in Ridgewood, Queens, said he installed a device with his kitchen’s hood and ventilation when the restaurant opened in 2021. Given the tenuous health of the restaurant industry, any added cost was hard to bear, he said.

“A lot of restaurants aren’t profitable or are just breaking even,” he said. “It’s always been thin margins and now it’s even thinner.”

Brad Gerstman, a Manhattan lawyer and lobbyist who represented a group of city pizzerias opposing the rule, said the rule was “outrageous when there are so many other global warming causes to go after before you get down to the small business of making pizza,” a food he described as “iconic in New York City.” He said installing and maintaining the device has cost his clients “tens of thousands” of dollars.

At Louie and Ernie’s Pizza on Crosby Avenue in the Bronx, owner Cosimo Tiso said he’d been cooking with gas for decades, but he sympathized with his colleagues affected by the rule.

“The city’s got enough problems not to worry about coal ovens,” he said.