Recently, Mayor Bloomberg took an aggressive stance towards combating the escalating obesity rate in New York City by proposing a ban on the purchase of larger sized sodas. It was a proposal that was not accepted with open arms and many New Jersey business owners as well as residents hope that the Garden State does not consider such a ban.
In fact, Tenafly‘s Mayer Pete Rustin expressed a definitely negative attitude towards the proposal, stating that “Soda is only dangerous to those drinking it. I’m not sure if the government should really get involved in deciding who is allowed to drink soda”.
Even Cresskill, New Jersey’s mayor Benedict Romeo did not think too highly of Bloomberg’s suggestion a ban or large sodas, saying that “I am…opposed to taking away an individual’s liberties about drink and food. You should be able to watch your own weight without the government intervention”.
Many restaurant managers in the New York City metropolitan area are worried that the ban would have a negative impact on their businesses. An owner of a pizza business in Tenafly wanted to know what they would be selling as a beverage to go with pizza of the ban were to go into effect–water?
Business owners are speculating about what they would do if their livelihood was dramatically affected by the ban. As one restaurant owner puts it: “We make a lot of profit from selling sodas. They are definitely a high profit item.”
New Jersey real estate experts suggest that preventing food service business owners from selling sodas larger than 16 ounces (Bloomberg’s idea) could cause some owners to move out of areas affected by the ban. In addition, many small business owners think that Bloomberg is constantly attacking them and this ban on soda represents another bite into their profits.
Several New York franchise owners have stated that The Big Apple is not the business-friendly city it used to be and are considering expanding into areas outside the city, even if the ban were overturned. This means that real estate in neighboring Bergen County could potentially become extremely valuable in the next five years, especially if Bloomberg continues his assault against small business owners who are trying to eke out a living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.
Bergen County is already home to some of the most desired real estate in New Jersey. If NYC business owners begin looking into moving or expanding their businesses into this beautiful, nearby county, the real estate market may create a very viable and lucrative boom to people who already own Bergen County property. In fact, it may be to your advantage to start looking at Bergen County real estate and consider investing in this soon-to-be thriving market.