NEW YORK CITY — Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver won’t be the one to block Hizzoner's anti-sugar crusade.
Silver said while he has his doubts about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial plan to ban eateries from serving sugar-sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces, he won’t railroad the efforts.
"While the Speaker has reservations about Mayor Bloomberg's plan to ban over-sized sugary drinks, he does not envision legislation to stop this proposal prior to end of session nor is it a priority,” his office said in a statement issued Friday.
Albany had previously blocked the city’s efforts to slap a soda tax on sweetened drinks.
Bloomberg also continued to defend the ban against a growing backlash Friday, comparing it to major historical health improvements, such as hand-washing in hospitals and the development of modern sewage systems.
"Back in Queen Victoria's days in England, somebody figured out that the water supply and sewage systems should be separated. And if you look at life expectancy, it just went straight up, all of a sudden, when they separated that,” he said.
Instead of complaining about a "nanny state," he said New Yorkers should be thanking him for helping them live longer.
“All these people that say, keep the government out of it, well… just before you die, remember, you got three extra years,” he said.
