President of US Oil and Gas Association predicts 'pizza party rebellion' over New York oven proposal

President of the US Oil and Gas Association Tim Stewart predicted a "pizza party rebellion" over New York City’s reported proposal requiring restaurants to slash emissions from their pizza ovens.

"There's a great video of somebody who's protesting and throwing pizza over the fence at New York City Hall," Stewart told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "I said this was a pizza party rebellion."

According to a report from the New York Post, NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) drafted a proposal that included a 75% carbon emissions reduction for pizzerias that cook with coal and wood-fired ovens from before 2016.

DEP spokesman Ted Timbers said the move is "common-sense" and that such ovens "are among the largest contributors of harmful pollutants in neighborhoods with poor air quality," according to the Post. 

"It's one thing when the city council may restrict gas hookups on newer construction, but you're telling me you're gonna take away my local pizzeria's way of making their special pie?" Stewart asked. "You're kidding me."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams responded to the proposal in a press conference on Monday after receiving backlash. 

“Everyone likes pizza! You see that pie in front of you, you start to get happy,” said Adams, according to the New York Post. 

“But let’s be clear, every toxic entity that we remove from our air is adding up to the overall desire to deal with shrinking our carbon footprint,” he continued.