So much (for now) of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large sugary sodas. It has gone flat in court:
New York City’s planned ban on the sale of large sugary drinks won’t go into effect Tuesday after a state judge blocked the restrictions, calling them “arbitrary and capricious.”
“The court finds that the regulation … is laden with exceptions based on economic and political concerns,” Justice Milton Tingling wrote.cheduled to begin at midnight, the law would have restricted the sale of sugary drinks to no more than 16 ounces.
The law would have exempted a variety of retailers — including 7-Eleven, seller of the iconic “Big Gulp” drinks, because it is regulated by the state, not the city.
“The effect would be a person is unable to buy a drink larger than 16 ounces at one establishment but may be able to buy it at another establishment that may be located right next door,” Tingling wrote.
The lawsuit was brought by a group of business associations — including the American Beverage Association, the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State and the New York Korean-American Grocers Association.
The opponents argued that the city had overstepped its authority. Among other things, they said, the rules would disproportionately hurt small and minority-owned businesses.
“The court ruling provides a sigh of relief to New Yorkers and thousands of small businesses in New York City that would have been harmed by this arbitrary and unpopular ban,” the American Beverage Association said in a statement.
Of course, the Mayor’s office says it will appeal. But you have to wonder how this will fare at higher levels as well.
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.