[vendtalk] New Yorkers For Beverage Choices Surpasses 100, 000 Supporters

[Vandervoort's]

Vending Times

Issue Date: Vol. 52, No. 8, August 2012, Posted On: 8/7/2012 

New Yorkers For Beverage Choices Surpasses 100,000 Supporters, Names Liz
Berman Chairwoman
By Emily Jed Emily at vendingtimes.net 

NEW YORK CITY -- New Yorkers for Beverage Choices announced that more than
100,000 New Yorkers have joined the coalition in opposition to Mayor Michael
Bloomberg's proposed size restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages.

The coalition also announced that it has named Liz Berman of Continental
Food and Beverage Inc. (Clifton, NJ), which bottles and distributes
Coca-Cola's Inca Kola brand, as its chairwoman. 

Under the mayor's plan, food outlets that require a health inspection,
including restaurants, food carts, movie theaters, sports arenas and delis,
would be prohibited from selling sugary drinks in containers holding more
than 16 fl.oz. | SEE STORY  SEE STORY
The New York City Board of Health heard testimony both for and against Mayor
Bloomberg's proposed supersize cup soda ban on July 25 at the only public
hearing on the matter. The Board of Health will vote on the proposal on
Sept. 13. If passed, the rule would take effect six months later. 

New Yorkers for Beverage Choices contends that since the New York City Board
of Health is appointed by the mayor, the votes necessary to pass the ban are
likely in place. Even so, the group said it is continuing to engage
individuals and businesses throughout the city to voice their opposition to
the proposed ban. 

"Though the deck has been stacked against us, New Yorkers will continue to
voice their opposition to this arbitrary and ineffective ban," Berman said.
"As chair of the coalition, I am proud to stand with the more than 100,000
New Yorkers and businesses that are committed to making it clear that we can
decide what's best for ourselves and our families." 

More than 1,562 businesses and 105,414 individual supporters have joined the
coalition in the seven weeks since its formation.