Less than 24-hours before Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda ban in the Big Apple was suppose to go into effect a New York state judge has tossed the new law down the drain.
State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling in Manhattan ruled that the ban on sweetened drinks over the size of 16-ounces was "arbitrary and capricious" and struck it down, the New York Daily News reports.
The ruling is a huge blow to the Bloomberg administration who with approval of the city's board of health passed the measure in mid Sept. 2012. City officials said the measure was necessary to fight rising obesity rates in New York City where 5,000 obesity related deaths are reported annually.
With the exception of several establishments that were outside of the city's regulatory control, most restaurants, bars, and coffee shops were preparing for the switch to use smaller cups or to forego sugar entirely in their drinks and let consumers add it themselves.
According to the Daily News, Bloomberg released reports about how the ban will help poor neighborhoods even saying: "For all of what people say, people will quickly glom on and will do it, and they'll get used to it very quickly, and like smoking and so many other things...I think you'll see compliance."
But now the media tycoon billionaire who used $600 million of his own cash to help pass a law banning smoking in city bars and public parks is going to have to make a better case to get by the judicial branch.
The mayor's spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the court's decision, Reuters reports.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
