Chairman: Don’t unwittingly target NY-based AriZona juice firm in boycott over immigration law

Senator: Don’t boycott NY tea firm called AriZona

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — A New York-based beverage company finds itself in the middle of the controversy over an Arizona immigration law simply because it shares its name with the state.

An initiative apparently started on the Internet asks people to boycott the AriZona Beverage Co. because of claims the law will unfairly target Hispanics.

The company is based in Woodbury, 20 miles east of New York City. It sells teas and juice blends such as Mucho Mango. Chairman Don Vultaggio says it was started by “two hardworking guys from Brooklyn” in 1992 and has always been in New York.

Democratic state Sen. Craig Johnson opposes the Arizona law but calls the boycott misguided.

The law requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration statuses if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally.