New Options for Liquor Licenses

There are exiting new options available for liquor licenses and licensees added this year. Twenty-one members comprised of state agency heads and a diverse set of industry stakeholders, with voting to recommend changes to modernize and simplify the state’s 90-year-old ABC Law. They made 18 recommendations for future legislative changes by the New York State Legislature.

Governor Hochul signed two of those recommendations into law in October of 2023. This year’s Enacted Budget contains three more: 

New Options Available

• Alcohol To-Go – A 5-year extension will allow for the current “drinks to go” provision to continue through 2030.  
• Community Notification – Allows applicants to simultaneously apply for a license and notify their municipality. Instead, the SLA will not act on the application for 30 days.   
• One-Day Event Permits – Expands one-day special event permits to allow for the service of liquor. These one-day permits allow liquor in addition to beer and wine. This change creates parity for New York craft beverage manufacturers. It also improvides catering businesses more opportunities by expanding their offerings.   
• Temporary Wholesaler Permits – Wholesale applicants can obtain a temporary permit while their license is pending. Such allows these businesses to begin operations more expeditiously.

Other Business Friendly Options for Liquor Licenses:

• Expanding Catering permits – catering permits are issuable for outdoor and indoor functions or events, expanding opportunities for the hospitality industry and their customers.  
• Wine/Liquor Stores at Street Level – The budget eliminates a Prohibition era law that required liquor stores to be located at street level in order to qualify for a license.  
• Temporary Retail Permits – Extends the issuance of temporary retail permits to get businesses open and operating quickly.   
• Allowing Liquor Beverage Sales in Movie Theaters – The Budget allows for the service of spirits, in addition to beer and wine, at movie theaters that do not meet the definition restaurants, which required a full kitchen with meals served to guests seated at tables.  Movie theaters may now serve liquor in addition to beer and wine .   
• Makes Outdoor Dining Permanent – The budget makes permanent the service of alcohol on contiguous and non-contiguous municipal space, with the authorization of the municipality and the SLA, in addition to addressing service across bike lanes, thereby eliminating statutory ambiguity.