Restaurants & Bars

Booze To-Go Plan Spiked By NY Lawmakers In Budget

Albany Democrats pointedly left Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to make take-out wine and liquor permanent out of the state's next budget.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to make to-go alcohol permanent could be on the rocks.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to make to-go alcohol permanent could be on the rocks. (Shutterstock / Christopher Penler)

NEW YORK CITY — A popular provision for permanent to-go alcoholic drinks is on the rocks in Albany.

Democratic lawmakers in New York's Assembly and Senate pointedly did not include Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal for take-out wine and liquor drinks within their respective 2022-2023 budget resolutions.

"The Senate intentionally omits the Executive proposal to allow on-premises establishments to sell wine or liquor drinks for take-out or delivery," the Senate's resolution states.

Find out what's happening in New York Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The Assembly does not include the Executive proposal to permanently authorize the sale of alcohol to-go by on-premises retailers for off-premises consumption," the Assembly's resolution states.

The omissions could 86 the prospect of free-flowing take-out booze from New York City bars and restaurants.

Find out what's happening in New York Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Such drinks became a popular side effect of the coronavirus pandemic. Thirsty New Yorkers could continue to imbibe their favorite drinks while bars and restaurants were still closed for indoor seating, while the establishments themselves were kept afloat.

Hochul embraced permanent to-go alcohol as well. She backed it publicly during her State of the State address and included it in a 2023 budget proposal in January.

She called it the "most popular item in her entire budget."

"The one thing that went viral was to-go drinks," Hochul recently said at a Bed-Stuy bar.

But despite Hochul's backing and overwhelming support from New Yorkers, liquor store owners aren't exactly buzzed. They contend the idea it would "threaten the livelihood" of their industry, as their trade group the Metropolitan Package Store Association put in a statement in February.

The lobbying appears to have worked in Albany, at least for the time being. Lawmakers have an April 1 budget deadline, meaning the to-go proposal could still be mixed up in the final fiscal concoction.

Andrew Rigie, who heads the powerful NYC Hospitality Alliance, said permanent to-go drinks would provide a vital revenue source to thousands of establishments still financially devastated by the pandemic.

"Not to mention the policy is also extraordinarily popular with New Yorkers," he said in a statement. "We applaud Governor Hochul for her continued leadership in support of this critical lifeline for our neighborhood restaurants and bars and look forward to leveraging the momentum and widespread support for drinks to-go as we work with our partners in the State Senate and Assembly to include this important proposal in the final budget.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here