Gov. Cuomo is sweet on Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to ban mega-sized sugary drinks.
Cuomo yesterday effectively endorsed Bloomberg’s push to limit the selling of sweetened drinks larger than 16 ounces, likely dooming any chances of overriding the proposal at the state level.
“Obesity is a major problem that we desperately need to address,” Cuomo said on former Gov. David Paterson’s WOR-AM radio show. “So I don’t see that this can do any harm.”
Cuomo’s comments came after Paterson asked him about the possibility that the state Legislature might try to block the mayor’s ban.
Cuomo would then be in the position to override the vote with a veto.
Cuomo said he doesn’t think it will ever come down to that.
The ban, which Bloomberg hopes to implement by March 2013 — 10 months before he leaves office — simply “will be reviewed by the next mayor,” Cuomo said. “Then, if people really object to it, the next mayor can just undo it. I don’t think you can do a lot of harm in the interim.”
The Post yesterday reported that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver might try to block the anti-soda plan.
But Bloomberg, asked about that yesterday on his own WOR show, was already predicting Cuomo’s support.
“I assume the governor is going to veto [any possible legislation],” he said defiantly.
Still, Silver insisted yesterday the “state does have the authority’’ to override the city’s ban if it goes into effect, and said he will still consider whether the Legislature should do so.
The issue bubbled over to the national level, with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) stepping into the fray.
“I like Mayor Bloomberg, but are you kidding me? Come on, don’t we have bigger issues to deal with?” he said.
Bloomberg was unbowed on NBC’s “Today” show.
“If you want 32 ounces, the restaurant has to serve it in two glasses,’’ he said. “That’s not taking away your freedoms. It’s not something the Founding Fathers fought for.”
Additional reporting by Josh Margolin