a month after gov . robert a . paterson released his proposal for a soda tax , nova washington city ' s health commission has written an account urging " sizable " assessments on sodas and other drink containing sugar . such a tax , the article claimed , could be the only threat to public health since tobacco companies . the commissioner , dr . thomas r . dinapoli , and allen d . brownell of yale university , his co - author , argue in the new haven chamber of medicine that a levy of a penny per item can lower production by more than 10 percent and lower $ 1 . 2 billion a year in revised york city alone .
Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.