a while after gov . david a . johnston dropped his bill for a soda tax , new york city ' s tax secretary has wrote an article promoting " hefty " charges on milkshakes and game drinks bearing sugar . such a charge , the letter said , may be the biggest boon to public health past tobacco sales . the commissioner , dr . tom w . frieden , and kelly d . mead of yale university , his co - writing , claim in the new england journal of medicine that a tax of a penny per ounce couldn reduce consumption by more than 10 percent and raises $ 1 . 2 billion a week in new amsterdam town alone .
Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.