Starting March 12, New Yorkers will no longer be able to purchase two-liter bottles of soda with their pizzas, thanks to a new ban being put into place by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the New York Post reported Sunday.
According to the Post, pitchers of soft drinks normally used to service multiple people and some bottle-service mixers used in clubs will also be banned under the new rules.
Last week, the city Health Department began sending notices to businesses affected by Bloomberg's latest ban, and, the Post said, "merchants were shocked to see the broad sweep of the new rules."
“It’s not fair. If you’re gonna tell me what to do, it’s no good,” Steve DiMaggio of Caruso’s in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn told the Post. “It’s gonna cost a lot more.”
But the ban will also force families to spend more money for smaller bottles of soda.
Instead of paying three dollars for a two-liter bottle of Coke, for example, consumers will have to pay $7.50 for six 12-ounce cans.
“I really feel bad for the customers," Lupe Balbuena of World Pie said.
Robert Bookman, a lawyer for the New York City Hospitality Alliance, called the ban "ludicrous."
“It’s a sealed bottle of soda you can buy in the supermarket. Why can’t they deliver what you can get in the supermarket?” he asked.
The Post said Bloomberg's rules are "hard to unravel."
"Alcoholic drinks and diet sodas are not subject to the ban, nor are fruit smoothies if they don’t have added sweetener, or coffee drinks and milkshakes if made with 50 percent milk," the Post said.
As for drinks with small amounts of sugar, businesses must ensure there are no more than 3.125 calories per ounce.
Those violating the rules face a $200 fine for each violation.
The Post depicted Bloomberg as a Victorian-era Mary Poppins-like nanny with the caption, "Mayor Poppins' rules"
A post at Twitchy said that "New York is no longer the Big Apple; it’s the Big Brother."
In a post at Michelle Malkin's website, Doug Powers expressed surprise that Bloomberg would allow home delivery of pizzas.
"Bloomberg is still going to allow pizzas to be delivered? Unbelievable. It seems like the obesity from the pizza combined with the global warming from the delivery vehicle would be enough to convince The Nanny to put a stop to it. Maybe that’s next."