Town Hall Tuesday on NYC's Proposed Bag Fee

Pictured: Bag-fee supporters rally at City Hall. Photo by John V. Santore

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN, NY — As the New York City Council prepares to vote Thursday on a new 5 cent fee for single-use bags distributed at retailers throughout the city, Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo is hosting a town hall Tuesday night to discuss the legislation with locals.

Cumbo — whose district includes parts of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights — has come out in support of the proposed law, which has a (very) slim majority of Council support overall.

Cumbo's town hall begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Ingersoll Community Center, located at 177 Myrtle Ave.

Reusable bags will be distributed at the event.

Speaking on the town hall's panel Tuesday night will be Cumbo; attorney Jennie Romer, who helped craft the legislation; supporter and Frederick E. Samuel Apartments resident Diana Blackwell; and an opponent, Brooklyn activist Christina Winslow.

The bill would add a 5 cent charge to all single-use paper and plastic bags handed out in NYC, with a few exceptions. (Including bags without handles and bags used to wrap prepackaged foods, pharmacy drugs and some types of garments.)

Shoppers who qualify for public assistance wouldn't need to pay the charge.

Opponents have argued the bill will burden the poor. However, bag-fee backers say the point isn't for New Yorkers to actually pay the fee. Instead, it would serve as an incentive for them to switch to reusable bags.

In 2013, sanitation workers hauled away 84,000 tons of plastic retail bags and sleeves in NYC, costing taxpayers $8.4 million, according to city statistics.

Washington, D.C. implemented a 5 cent bag fee in January 2010. Disposable bag use in DC has since been cut in half, local government data shows.

Correction: an earlier version of this story incorrectly listed Diana Blackwell as an opponent of the bill.