Bloomberg: No Chick-Fil-A Ban Here

Today NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he would not stand in the way of Chick-Fil-A opening any new franchises here. Presently the chain only has the above "express" counter in the downtown NYU food court.

“They’re all friends but I disagree with them really strongly on this one,” Mr. Bloomberg said of his mayoral colleagues. “You can’t have a test for what the owners’ personal views are before you decide to give a permit to do something in the city. You really don’t want to ask political beliefs or religious beliefs before you issue a permit, that’s just not government’s job.” Mr. Bloomberg went on to argue that blocking a business based on their political beliefs opens a potential slippery slope where liberal cities block conservative establishments and vice versa with conservative cities. “Freedom of speech — everybody’s in favor of it as long as it’s what they want to hear,” he explained. “Well the only way that you have your freedom of speech is if you give other people freedom of speech. … This is just a bad idea and it’s not going to happen in New York City.”

The mayor and city council have worked strenuously to keep Walmart out of the five boroughs, but on grounds other than the political positions of the retail giant.