New York City’s billion-dollar mayor has lost out to the ordinary Bronx family that just wants a that 2-liter bottle of soda with its pizza. A New York State appeals court Tuesday said a lower court ruled correctly when it blocked New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. In a 4-0 decision, the appeals court said Bloomberg’s handpicked Board of Health had overstepped its power in adopting the soda ban. The appeals court said the Board of Health’s ruling was more like a legislative or city council decision than one involving a health issue. “
The Board of Health overstepped the boundaries of its lawfully delegated authority when it promulgated the [ban] to curtail the consumption of soda drinks,” wrote Appellate Justice Dianne Renwick for the court.” It therefore violated the state principle of separation. Bloomberg, New York City’s outgoing mayor, promised to appeal the decision. He blamed the city’s diabetic deaths on soda consumption At the time, Bloomberg said the large soda ban was needed to combat childhood obesity. The city’s Board of Health agreed, and the ban was set to take effect on March 12. A day earlier, however, NY’s Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling struck it down as “arbitrary and capricious,” ruling also that it was riddled with loopholes and exemptions. Soda companies and businesses had brought a lawsuit. The mayor continues to support the now-illegal ban. He leaves office in January.
