Critics, City Debate Delaying NYC Soda-Size Rule

It’s up to a judge whether a first-of-its-kind size limit on sodas and other sugary drinks will take effect in three weeks.

Beverage-makers and sellers, seeking to hold off enforcement while a lawsuit plays out, faced off in court Wednesday with city officials. Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling didn’t immediately rule or say when he would.

With the regulation set to go into effect March 12, the beverage industry and eateries say businesses could end up squandering money complying with the regulation if a court ultimately throws it out.

“What’s the rush? Is the city so worried that one more person is going to gain another pound …?” asked Steven Molo, a lawyer for groups representing Korean-American deli owners and Hispanic-owned eateries.

The city, meanwhile, says there’s no time to waste.

The restriction “will have significant public health effects, and the sooner that happens, the better,” city lawyer Mark W. Muschenheim told the judge.

Citing studies that suggest sugary drinks are a driving factor in the nation’s growing girth, city officials portray the restriction as a portion-control tactic that will help people cut calories without stopping anyone who actively wants more soda.

Opponents say it’s insulting to suggest consumers don’t know what they’re doing, and unfair to impose a restriction that applies only to some beverages and some establishments. The rule doesn’t cover alcoholic drinks, milkshakes, coffee drinks or unsweetened juices. Nor does it apply to any sugary drinks sold at supermarkets or convenience stores.

The business groups say the rule will cost beverage-makers about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses, cut into soda sales that represent about 20 percent of profits at entertainment venues, and changes ranging from inventory to reprinting menus. They also say eateries affected by the size limit stand to lose business to ones that aren’t.

The city calls the claims overstated. City lawyers said Wednesday that restaurants will still be allowed to continue serving 16-ounce drinks in cups that hold slightly more than 16 ounces, in order to leave room at the top.

The critics include heavyweight national beverage, restaurant and movie theater associations, small-business groups and the New York state branch of the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, an organization of 100 Northeastern groups. The minority advocates say they’re concerned that minority-owned delis and corner stores will lose out to grocery chains.

This article appeared in print on page 7 of the February 21st, 2013 edition of Hamodia.