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UPDATE, 3:18 PM: The National Association of Theater Owners says it’s “elated” by the decision. “This issue was never about obesity, nor about soda,” the group says. “This was all about power.” Indeed, the group refers to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-obesity initiative as “an arbitrary and porous Mayoral fiat.” NATO adds that education and “collaboration with all stakeholders” would be more effective than an “unpopular and unfair executive decree.”
PREVIOUS, 12:31 PM: Movie theater owners in the Big Apple won’t have to limit themselves to serving small sodas. New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling enjoined the city on Monday from implementing the law that was due to take effect tomorrow that would bar food sellers regulated by the Board of Health from selling sugared drinks in portions larger than 16 ounces.The rule would apply to restaurants, theaters, and workplace cafeterias, but not supermarkets and convenience stores. It also exempts diet sodas, alcohol, and fruit juices. The regulations are “fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences,” the judge said, according to a Wall Street Journal report. He cited provisions that could lead to “uneven enforcement even within a particular city block, much less the city as a whole.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg favored the rule as part of his effort to fight obesity. His office says that it will appeal today’s decision “as soon as possible” adding that it’s “confident the measure ultimately will be upheld.” The National Association of Theatre Owners‘ New York State operation vigorously opposed the NYC law. Concessions account for more than 25% of a typical theater’s revenues, according to SNL Kagan estimates.
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Bloombert is an idiot, if not a well-meaning one. “Mayor Nanny” should see to cleaning up the crime and corruption in his city before worrying about the waist-lines of his constituents. If he cans large sodas (pun intended), he should shut down fast food restaurants, outlaw candy machines, and jail the “Big Boy” mascot (assuming NY even has that franchise.)
Bloomberg needs and ass-kicking and probably would have gotten it by now if not for his bodyguards who are armed with guns — the same guns he would happily prohibit the rest of us from owning.
Surprised it’s gotten this far. Makes no sense at all… an extra 5-15 ounces of a sugary drink isn’t going to drop the pounds. What about the nachos, popcorn, Milk Duds, etc?
Agree with AM above, please clean up the streets before putting any time and $$$ into banning extra large soft drinks. I still have my hand on my pepper spray every night I come home…
I must agree with AM about the ban. IT wouldn’t work because it only cover that business inspected by the city and not the state. It will hurt the small business. People will just order double the amount of sugar drink and the non-healthy food that is sold in the theater.
By your reasoning, however, small business would make MORE money.
I live in NYC. Crime is way down, but I agree his attentions should be on those kinds of issues, not on what kinds of foods we choose to eat.
Never mind the fact that it was Bloomberg who shut out several small businesses in favor of getting Snapple (!) put into schools. Snapple — the absolute worst, sugary, crappy stuff on Earth.
Bloomberg is on Letterman tonight – should be good!
emporer bloomberg has no clothes.
to paraphrase what i read on the judges ruling, bloomberg basically tried to stack the deck in his favor and was caught breaking at least 2 big procedural requirements in addition to overstepping on the balance & separation of civic governmental powers. Its not the mayor’s office but the city council that is supposed to bring these concerns to the board of health, with actual medical proof that they are preventing an outbreak of disease.
i think bloomies unchecked power, not to mention opinion as power, has gone to his head.
I’m a liberal and I know Bloomberg’s intentions are sincere, but this was a ridiculous idea.
Its funny a guy with such a big ol belly is trying to ban sugary drinks
I’m so relieved. I’m really shocked that it made it this far. This is really overstepping on Bloomberg’s part, because it was a slippery slope, next it would have been desserts or alcohol — when is he leaving again?!
But how will New Yorkers survive if Mr. Bloomberg can’t make their decisions for them?
They should have kept the ban – I’m sure the appeal will come through. Bloomberg won’t roll over on this and he shouldn’t.Because it was a step in the right directon.
Today soda, tommorow high frutose corn syrup. That’s all I ask. Let’s get the addictive chemicals out of our food and lower the serving sizes, and maybe fat people will start to help themselves at little. The other day I saw a 200 – 250 pound woman in a motorscooter at the supermarket.She eating a FAMILY size bag of potato chips while SHOPPING for more junk. The stuff is her cart was unbelivable – not a veggie in sight. Eating junk while junk food shopping? And she can’t even stand while she’s doing it?
I’ve got to pay her medical bills when universal health coverage comes through – it has to stop, but we have to give people the tools to make better choices. Right now the deck is stacked against them – it’s an addiction, and obesity kills.
Can’t believe some people are siding with junk food companies . . . . . people are crying out for help
Who the hell gives you or anybody else the right to decide what amount of food others may or may not consume? You people are a menace to personal freedom and responsibility. People like you are liberty’s most dangerous enemies.
Folks, the same morons who want to legalize drugs are criminalizing smoking tobacco, eating hamburgers and drinking soda. In this twisted view of freedom, you may abort a living being from inside your womb but you are not free to drink a 32 ounce soda.
Well Libertarian, if you live in this country the FDA usually decides what foods people may or may not consume. Granted Mayor Bloomberg isn’t the FDA, but as Mayor he does have certain powers over his city.
I think it’s funny that people complain about how fat we’re getting as a country but then when one of our leaders tries to do something to help curb that, they cry about their personal freedoms. Yes, we all want to be free to do/eat/drink whatever we want, but when you live in a country with over 300 million people there are things that politicians/leaders have to do to benefit the welfare of the entire country, ie: banning certain food ingredients, taxing certain products (tobacco), etc.
I’m not saying that Mayor Bloomberg went about this the right way…he didn’t. And I’m not saying that politicians usually make the right decisions…a lot of times they don’t. But let’s not act like the tons of high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and chemicals that we ingest in these big drinks are good for us.
Everyone wants a small government until they realize their needs aren’t being met…and everyone wants their needs met until they think the government has become too big/they’re being taxed too much.
So in other words we all want to have our Big Gulp and drink it too.
@ libertarian
Yes, it’s all about individual freedom . . . .that’s why I ride the subway nude and waggle my member at fellow passengers, light up my crack pipe in the middle of central park, ride my high speed motorcycle without a helmet . . . . . . .
My body, My choice right?
If anyone doesn’t like it, look away!
It’s all about my ‘individual freedoms’ . . . . . .
I’m sorry buddy, but this is idiotic
Living in a socially democratic society means constant negotiation – a constant negotiation between my individual freedom vs what’s best for society at large.
Being a citizen of NYC should mean you have rights AND responsibilities. Libertarians always forget that the responsibility part . . . . .It’s not all me, me, me – esp. when society must FOOT THE BILL for your poor choices.
And the ‘where does it end?’ stuff is ridiculous. Many European countries have smaller serving sizes and regulate genetically modified, chemically treated foods in the interest of the health and well being of their populace.
No one’s knocking on some Frenchman’s door, snatching his fast food hamburger away. But there is an understanding abroad that allowing food companies to sell GM, ‘edible food like substances’ are not in the best interest of the public at large, and the government regulates accordingly. Even if some citizens want that type of food, or if most citizens don’t care one way or the other.
Glad to see Bloomberg take this brave stand
That fat woman in the motorscooter may not realize it, but Bloomberg is acting in her best interest – and more importantly, in my best interests, and in the interest in the public at large.
We are in the middle of a major epidemic and measures must be taken.
Calorie count menus haven’t brought down the government and neither has banning trans fat and neither will (slightly) smaller sodas. People always moan about Bloomy but in the end his stuff passes and everyone agrees it’s better.
Will we take a stand or continue down the path we are on?
Perhaps the city should not be allowed to regulate school lunches now? . . . . . . is that infringing on childrens’ rights to stuff themselves with whatever garbage the food companies want to pedel to them? Nonsense.
Glad to see NYC out on front on this, hopefully the rest of the country will wise up as well . . . .
It’s remarkable to me how Democrats insist on believing their feelings should be LAWS. (let’s face it…Bloomberg is a Dem, always has been one) The tactic works because everyone immediately dives into the weeds (“who needs a drink that big?”, “sugary drinks are bad for you”, etc.) instead of simply pointing out that this is none of the government’s business.
Who are you to decide that for me, or anyone else? My IQ is in the top .01% (Tested, and not on the net.). Does this mean I should be making decisions on how you live? I suspect you wouldn’t like that.
Guess what? I resent the idea that some bureaucrat, or elected official with a fraction of my brainpower has the audacity to decide how I will live. We have a constitution to limit government power and prevent this kind of nonsense. You and your tiny little mind may welcome the soft tyranny of a nanny state. The rest of us do not.
I still can’t get over the fact that we have a major city in our country where you can buy as many guns as you want, but can’t buy a 20 oz soda at a restaurant.
RATS AND CRIMINALS RUN FREE,MEAN WHILE THE BLOOM SAYS LETS UNARM OUR CITIZENS,AND BAN LARGE SODAS???????WOW!THATS WHY WE LIVE IN TEXAS!
I’m from Texas. Mike, comments like yours make us look bad.
And turn off your caps lock.
The obesity issue is about genes; often if not always heredity; perhaps cultural – maybe even geographical location depending on local dietary customs; sedentary lifestyle exacerbated by technology (which you’re never gonna hear the Obamas genuinely knock – the more stealth technology the better for those two;) and diabetes – both Types 1 and 2 as well as diabetes not diagnosed (sometimes for many, many years) – and the attendant “sugar tooth” which is real – prevalent at varying levels in all three modes irrespective of the treatment you’re getting or not getting no matter how heavy-set or thin you may be.
You can not legislate any of the foregoing out of existence.
You’re not gonna address let alone resolve any issue about anything – by banning the size of the container.
It’s now legal to buy insulin syringes in small volume without a prescription (at least in NY State anyway) – this was an AIDS initiative and a smart one – but the underlying factors of heroin addiction are the problem – not the container or delivery system.
Ban cigarette cartons. Health problem solved, right?
Like the guy in every way including his stance on gun control.
But…
…this was a wrong-headed initiative not pursuant to the underlying facts. You would have more of a case for banning cigarette cartons because of second-hand smoke and smoke allergies in that cigarettes in volume would be exponentially potentially injurious to parties not participating in the activity in question. (You’re potentially harming others in addition to definitely harming yourself basically.)
Now banning package deals that the theater exhibitors rope you into for a dollar more (or something comparable – “Would you like this baby-sized cup – or the enormous cup that’s roughly the size of a newborn baby – for a dollar more? This way you’ll have to visit the restroom in the middle of the movie and miss the most important part. You know. When the most important part usually happens.”) One might argue that these exhibitor consumer practices are just not film-friendly.
If you’re an adult you may skip seeing “Admission” entirely (as contemporary example) because you were just on a fifty dollar date to see “Jack the Giant Slayer.” It financially discourages people from checking out other types of films because they simply can’t afford it maybe.
Even if you CAN afford it people may be getting incrementally sub-consciously angry about all the cattle-like manipulation. I think that’s already happening anyway. God forbid they go “Network”/Howard Beale-style on Hollywood’s ass! (There’s always China…)…a “Network” another film you just may skip out of practical financial prudence if not necessity. If the custom of quality exhibition is marginalized, even phased out of/in America,…then is it possible that Hollywood will ONLY be making movies for a China? As just one market example of many.)
(And is this why Disney barely makes movies for adults anymore? It’s like the Eisner/Katzenberg era never happened. Would a Disney invest in “American Graffiti” today? [Or thematically keeping on point - "Sugarland Express" for instance.] I realize it was originally a Universal Picture ["A.G."] – I’m pretty positive that that was the studio. But as a contrived general example if this had been the case though there may never have been a “Star Wars” for Disney to have ever been able to buy in the first place.)
Bloomberg was dwelling on what are essentially consumer practices – which are a legitimate gripe – which contribute to health problems – as it pertains to the movie business as an example – for a dollar more – as a health care solvent comparable to the implementation of an “app” which his endeavor was sold as, and supposed to be construed as…as a similarly easy and convenient “no-brainer” – not time saver – but life saver in the long-run.
Those refreshment packages at the theaters are not movie business-friendly (again in the long-run) BTW. In my opinion. That’s a lot of money you could be spending on seeing other movies in different theaters. Plus you feel dirty and ripped-off just placing the order; like a complete schmuck blackmailed into an asymmetrical transaction – because who can resist nachos and cheese? Or my admitted weakness – the pretzel nuggets…with cheese… the latter similarly harmful as sugar to the clinically obese…maybe worse…to the people who are supposed to, as Bloomberg had suggested everybody will someday be doing…will be “thank[ing] [him] later…”
For what exactly? He didn’t think it through.
Now the Bloomberg console…THAT he thought through. Now that’s a CONTAINER he won’t be banning as long as things like patent, copyright, trademark law permit.
this article is so sad. from both perspectives. that the Mayor would spend time on this. and that he needs to spend time on this because of america’s obesity problem. just so sad…
Billy, obesity and obesity-related conditions kills many, many more people in New York than murder and terrorist attacks.
The mayor has got to focus on this. It’s his responsibility. Sadly, willpower hasn’t worked . . . . .
Anon, you say that because of universal health care, you will need to pay obese people’s medical bills, and therefore you are justfied in limiting their choices on food and drink. Exactly where does that end? It seems that logic would justify your outlawing any activity that can cause injury resulting in medical bills. Driving over 55? 35? Any alcohol? Red meat? Any candy? Hiking on unstable soil? Being in the sun w/o sunscreen? Watching TV more than necessary? Not exercising? Flying? Walking briskly? Which of these is a significant leap from what you are arguing?
As one who has lived in NY State for almost 13 years and has lived in NYC for over two, I can say this:
Requiring chains to put calorie numbers on their products is extremely helpful. I have the option, say of ordering a large unsweetened tea from McDonalds at O calories, or a sweet tea in the same size at 280. (I only use the golden arches as an example because they are part of my workplace.)
That should be enough. I have the numbers in front of me and I should have the freedom to use them as I choose. If I want 300 calories for a drink, I should have the freedom to buy them. Who is Bloomberg or anyone else to tell me what I can or cannot ingest?
This state is ass-backwards. The politicians blocked a full-on CA-style marijuana legislation and continually block MMA from being legal, even though both would poor millions of dollars into an admittedly bankrupt state, begging the question, whose pockets are they really in?
Meanwhile, the subway fares go up and large soda is illegal? What planet to these people live on?…because it’s not on mine.
Do they really refer to themselves as NATO?
Yeah Mayor Bloomberg. Bring back the Fun Pass subway MetroCard. $7.00 and you could see the entire city in a day “On the Town”-style. So great for tourists wishing to see all the sights that New York has to offer but who are on a budget. Running around like that clinically obese people could get a lot of much-needed exercise! Not bad for Fleet Week either come to think of it. Frank Sinatra could have seen everything in that one day no problem before he shipped off – with the Fun Pass back in action!