Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm in Liberty, N.Y., says about one-third of its sales are in New York City.
M. Spencer Green/AP Photo

In legal filings with near-identical language, both Saravia and Marcus Henley of Hudson Valley Foie Gras said that New York City “represents approximately one-third of the Farm’s sales,” and that losing the market “would jeopardize the very existence of the farm.” Saravia said his farm hasn’t seen any drop off in sales yet, despite the looming ban.

Nearly four years after the city passed its ban, foie gras is still on menus. Daniel, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant on the Upper East Side, even highlights the local nature of the dish, offering “Upstate New York foie gras terrine” on its $188 four-course prix fixe menu.

At three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in midtown Manhattan, foie gras comes with the yellowfin tuna, in a foie gras-mushroom-truffle “cake” next to the poached lobster tail and is stuffed into the pan-roasted guinea hen on its $208 prix fixe menu.

The politics of foie gras

De Blasio, who signed the ban, wouldn’t be caught dead at either of those spots, preferring to burnish his progressive credentials by railing against elites. In 2019, he described foie gras as “force-feeding animals to create a luxury product, basically for the wealthy.”

Adams, however, finds himself in a more interesting position as he picks up the battle for the ban. He’s a champion of the restaurant industry and has a preference for the kind of high-end establishments that serve foie gras. Last year, Adams dined with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo at Le Pavillon in Midtown East, which currently serves prime dry-aged beef ribeye in foie gras bordelaise. (Page Six had the scoop about the sit-down but didn’t reveal what Adams had for dinner).

The hospitality industry loves Adams and doesn’t want a ban. “It’s an important part of the culinary experience,” for certain restaurants, said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York Hospitality Alliance. “Losing (foie gras) has not only a financial impact but impacts the culinary experience for restaurants and their guests.”

At the same time, Adams has aligned himself with the animal rights community. Adams famously sticks to a nearly vegan diet, but he’s motivated by the health benefits of eating green more than animal rights. When his then-Office of Brooklyn borough president testified in favor of the bill in 2019, the first focus wasn’t on the health of the birds but of the humans eating it, saying foie gras derives 85 percent of its calories from fat.

While the legal battle pits restaurants against animal rights, it’s also a clear issue of rural versus urban and state versus city power. The mayor’s office declined to comment on the litigation, but animal rights advocate Feldman Taylor thinks it’s the challenge to the municipal home rule law that will keep Adams in the fight.

“The Law Department operates under Mayor Adams, and they have been very clear that they’re taking this very, very seriously,” she said. “This is a law that is intended just for New York City only. It’s not telling those duck farmers what they can or can’t do upstate. They can still produce foie gras. They just can’t sell it in restaurants or grocery stores in New York City.”