Alcohol laws of New York

Some upstate areas such as Buffalo, Albany, and Saratoga Springs retain the 4:00 a.m closing time, although individual counties are free to set an earlier "last call".

Until the mid-2000s, sales of beer before noon on Sundays for off-premises consumption were prohibited statewide, a remnant of a royal decree during the Colonial era, and between 3–6 a.m. any other day.

Changes to the law made in the last years of Governor George Pataki's administration loosened those restrictions, and now beer sales are only prohibited from 3–8 a.m. Sundays.

Counties are free to adjust those hours in either direction, all the way to midnight and noon, and allow 24-hour beer sales on other days of the week.

[11] A few years after the Pataki administration changes, Governor David Paterson sought to allow supermarkets to sell wine.

The proposed law garnered so much opposition from liquor store owners that it was never voted on by either chamber of the New York State Legislature.

Williamson, in Wayne County, bans on-premises sale of beer at race tracks, outdoor athletic fields, and sports stadia where admission is charged.

Minors caught with any alcohol in the blood (defined legally as 0.02% or more) are subject to license revocation for six months or more.

Other penalties for drunken driving include fines, license suspension/revocation, possible imprisonment, and in some cases the implementation of an ignition interlock device.

Any person found under the influence of a substance other than alcohol in public who is endangering themselves and others is guilty under the New York State Penal Code.

[20] The law was originally pitched as targeting antisocial derelicts congregating in parks and on sidewalks, with Frederick E. Samuel, one of the measure's proponents in the New York City Council, stating "We do not recklessly expect the police to give a summons to a Con Ed worker having a beer with his lunch".

[21] On March 7, 2016, drinking in public in Manhattan was decriminalized, but NYPD officers may still arrest an intoxicated individual on other charges.