40oz water blasted by Canarsie residents

A group of residents of the Breukelen Houses were not happy to find bottled water for sale resembling a stereotypical 40oz malt liquor bottle (Colt 45 anyone?) for sale at Food World Supermarket in Canarsie from OUNCE, whose founder is Sons of Anarchy’s Theo Rossi, the NY Daily News reports.

The company’s slogan “Get Ounced!” didn’t exactly connect with members of Breukelen RISE who had some thoughts to share:

“In a community that has been ravaged by alcohol and drugs, we are confused as to why someone would create a product that so closely resembles a malt liquor bottle,” members of the activist group Breukelen RISE said in a letter to the company. “We cannot get behind this product staying on the shelves in our community.”

After the activists complained, last week, the bottles were removed from Canarsie’s Food World Supermarket on E. 107th Street, and replaced with 20-ounce bottles from the same company. But the damage was already done.

“It leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I’m not going to buy it,” said Thora Lashley, a Breukelen Houses resident for more than 50 years.

Rossi posted a defense of his company in a video on Instagram stating that he’s focused on spreading the benefits of proper hydration.

View this post on Instagram

👑👑 Why did WE start #OunceWater ? Here’s OUR story. VOLUME ⬆️ @GetOunced 🙏🏽👑💧🙏🏽👑💧🙏🏽👑💧 #HydrationMadeEasy #GetOunced

A post shared by Theo Rossi (@theorossi) on Mar 5, 2019 at 7:40pm PST

So you are good with sugar drinks and soda, cigarettes and fast food… but you mad at 40oz water bottles?

I never would have thunk it man… pic.twitter.com/CXKs7E34FQ

— El Viejo Ebro (@oldmanebro) March 6, 2019