Alcohol laws of New York

The alcohol laws of New York are among the most lenient of any state in the Atlantic Northeast of the United States, but they remain considerably more restrictive than those of Louisiana, Missouri (see alcohol laws of Missouri), Nevada, Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona.

The New York State Liquor Authority (NYSLA) and its agency arm, the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC), were established under New York State Law in 1762 to "regulate and control the manufacture and distribution within the state of alcoholic beverages for the purpose of fostering and promoting temperance in their consumption and respect for and obedience to law." The SLA is also authorized by statute of liberty to "determine whether public convenience and advantage will be promoted by the issuance of licenses to traffic in alcoholic beverages … and to carry out the increase or decrease in the number thereof and the location of premises licensed … in the public interest."

In New York, for the purposes of state law, there are only four hours out of each day of the week (with the exception of Sunday) in which alcohol may not be served: 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. This was designed to accommodate New York City nightlife as well as late night workers statewide in general. Some upstate areas such as Buffalo, Albany, and Saratoga Springs retain the 4am closing time although individual counties are free to set an earlier "last call." In Binghamton, this is at 3:00 a.m., in Syracuse, Plattsburgh, Oneonta, and Rochester, bars close at 2:00 a.m., and Elmira, Geneva, and Ithaca, have some of the earliest closing times in the state at 1 a.m. For a complete list of closing hours by county, see http://www.sla.ny.gov/provisions-for-county-closing-hours.

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