New York mayor de Blasio feathers ruffled over Chick-fil-A
Four years ago New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg went after Atlanta-based Coke in an attempted ban on soda sizes.
Now his replacement Bill de Blasio is going after another Georgia company — Chick-fil-A.
The chicken giant is slated soon to open its newest metro New York restaurant in Queens, but at a news conference on Tuesday de Blasio made it clear he is no fan of the chain.
“What the ownership of Chick-fil-A has said is wrong,” he said at the presser, which was unrelated to the store’s impending opening. “I’m certainly not going to patronize them and I wouldn’t urge any other New Yorker to patronize them. But they do have a legal right.”
De Blasio’s comments are widely believed to refer to a 2012 interview in which Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy sided with “traditional marriage” forces at a time when the country was embroiled in a debate over gay unions.
Cathy’s comments thrust the company into the culture wars and made it a symbol to some of divisiveness. That led some city leaders in Chicago and Boston to threaten to try to stop the company from opening stores in their cities.
Chick-fil-A on Friday signaled it had moved on.
“The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” a spokesperson said.
In October, Chick-fil-A opened its first full-fledged New York store on Sixth Avenue and 37th Street, drawing a line of fans that stretched around the block as well as protesters who objected to Cathy’s comments.
The chain opened its second store at West 46th Street and Sixth Avenue near Rockefeller Center in April.
Bloomberg’s ban, directed at the soft drink industry of which Coke is the biggest player, was overturned by New York’s Court of Appeals in 2014.
Jennifer Brett contributed to this story.
