Let the soda fountains flow! On Monday, a New York Supreme Court judge overturned Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on the sale of supersized sugary drinks in New York City restaurants and other venues. Judge Milton Tingling ordered that the city is “permanently restrained” from “enforcing the new regulations,” which are “fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences.” He added that the “loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the state purpose of the rule.” Many city restaurants and other businesses had already begun preparing for the ban, which was set to take effect on March 12. The judge’s ruling is a big blow to Mayor Bloomberg, who has stressed public-health initiatives throughout his tenure. It was one of the most ambitious and divisive initiatives of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s tenure.
He now faces the possibility that one of his most cherished endeavors will not come to fruition before he leaves office, if ever.
He now faces the possibility that one of his most cherished endeavors will not come to fruition before he leaves office, if ever.
The mayor’s plan, which he pitched as a novel effort to combat obesity, aroused worldwide curiosity and debate — and the ire of the American soft-drink industry, which undertook a multimillion-dollar campaign to block it.