NYC Sugary ban now applies to AmazonFresh

Mechanical_Whispers

As of this morning, the NYC ban on sugary drinks is now banning Amazon Fresh from delivering 2 liter bottles of Coke to anyone in NYC. As of right now, Fresh Direct is still selling them. But that may change shortly. How is this legal? Amazon Fresh and Fresh Direct are not restaurants or delis. And 2 liters of Coke are not fountain drinks. Wasn't that law deemed illegal, anyway? Are grocery stores next? ‪#‎amazonfresh‬ ‪#‎freshdirect‬ ‪#‎sugaryban‬ ‪#‎nyc‬ ‪#‎brooklyn‬ ‪#‎dietcoke‬ ‪#‎coke‬ ‪#‎nycban‬ ‪#‎nannystate‬ ‪#‎bloombergsucks

crownheightster

I don't even remember that the sugar ban WON. I thought it was rejected.

Mechanical_Whispers

EXACTLY! Yet Amazon Fresh got a notice this morning to stop selling 2 liter Coke to NYC residents due to "a ban on sugary drinks in NYC". How is this legal?!?

homeowner

https://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2014/Jun14/134opn14-Decision.pdf

Bob_Loblaw

This seems extremely odd -- the law was struck down, and even as written it shouldn't apply to a delivery service. I wonder if the notice really came from the city or if it was a prank or hoax?  Where did you hear that Amazon Fresh received such a notice? 

Mechanical_Whispers

I am a customer. I went on their website this morning to do my normal grocery shopping, and all 2-liter bottles of Coke were "out of stock". Everything.... Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Fanta (Though oddly, Pepsi is still in stock and available to purchase). So I e-mailed customer service and asked when it was all going to be back in stock. The response was:

"I've researched the item you asked about and found that there is a ban against large sugary drinks in your area. I realize you have purchased this item in the past and have forwarded your concerns to the proper team for further review. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week."

That wasn't a satisfactory answer to me, so I called and spoke to another customer service representative who said that they received a notice this morning saying that Amazon Fresh was no longer allowed to deliver soda over 16 ounces to customers in NYC due to the sugary drink ban. He apologized for the inconvenience and said they are currently working to repeal that order, but he couldn't tell me if or when it would be resolved. And that was all they knew.

bobmarvin

What are these posts about? AFAIK that proposed ban was only for large sodas at restaurants, never actually went into effect, and, in any case, had nothing to do with 2 L. bottles. 

Mechanical_Whispers

EXACTLY! Yet, Amazon Fresh has mistakenly issued a corporate memo to stop delivering 2-liter Coke products to NYC residents due to "a ban on sugary drinks in NYC". It makes absolutely no sense, yet it's happening. All 2-liter Coke products have been removed from their online store (when you sign in with a NYC address). And their official explanation is that there is a ban on sugary drinks in the area, and they are not allowed to sell or deliver them (this is coming from Amazon Fresh customer service).

bobmarvin

Ah, so the people at Amazon management giving information to their customer service are idiots. THAT explains a lot.