SANITY RULES: HIKIND DELIGHTED BY COURT’S DECISION TO ALLOW BIG GULPS

NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND

July 30, 2013

Contact: Yehudah Meth                                                         For Immediate Release

718-853-9616 (office)
973-945-4903 (cell)

SANITY RULES: HIKIND DELIGHTED BY COURT’S DECISION TO ALLOW BIG GULPS

ASKS BLOOMBERG NOT TO GO TO SUPREME COURT

“Sanity rules,” said Assemblyman Hikind (D-Brooklyn) reacting to an appeals court ruling today that New York City's Board of Health had exceeded its authority and acted unconstitutionally in trying to limit the size of soft drinks served in city restaurants. In a unanimous opinion, the four-judge panel of the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division said the Board of Health acted too much like a legislature when it created the limit, which would have stopped sales of non-diet soda and other sugar-laden beverages in containers bigger than 16 ounces. The judges wrote that while the board had the power to ban "inherently harmful" foodstuffs from being served to the public, sweetened beverages didn't fall into that category.

“I’m very interested in health,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “I just don’t believe we need government regulating the size of the sodas people can purchase. That’s going a wee bit too far. I hope the mayor let’s this go now.”