Snapple Cracks, Pops

Snapple Cracks, Pops

Last Thursday, City Comptroller William Thompson, after reviewing the process by which it came about, concluded that the city's $126 million contract to make Snapple the "official beverage of New York" simply wasn't going to happen.

The basis for his rejection was the fact that from the beginning, Snapple?which was granted a $40 million contract with city schools even though their bid was among the lowest?seemed preordained. None of the other bidders had a chance.

While that's good enough for us (anything that kills that mayor's Snapple deal is good enough for us), we think there's a better reason for rejecting the contract. Namely, that the city has sold off enough of its soul to major corporate interests already. We're drowning in advertising as it is?remember when you could stand at the corner of Lafayette and Houston, look up toward the sky, and not see a billboard for Bacardi, or Yahoo, or the Gap, or?? Remember when you could go into a bar bathroom and not be forced to stare at an ad for a video game while you pissed?

It's an old song, but it's still true. Look at the public reaction to those animated billboards on subway entrances. It's a matter of time before the ELF-style protests begin. (Hint, hint.)

Beyond even that, the mayor, other government officials and New Yorkers pride themselves on what a heterogeneous city we are, with hundreds of cultures, languages, tastes and smells blending together. Why not let us live that way? Why, if you step into a public school or a city building, should your choices be limited to a single label? Why announce that some banal, suburban devil's brew represents New York in any way whatsoever?

The mayor may override Thompson on this one, which doesn't surprise us. Clearly, here's a man who loves his Snapple.