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This entry was published on 2023-10-20
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SECTION 105
Provisions governing licensees to sell at retail for consumption off the premises
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) CHAPTER 3-B, ARTICLE 8
§ 105. Provisions governing licensees to sell at retail for
consumption off the premises. 1. No retail license to sell liquors
and/or wines for consumption off the premises shall be granted for any
premises, unless the applicant shall be the owner thereof, or shall be
in possession of said premises under a lease, management agreement or
other agreement giving the applicant control over the food and beverage
service at the premises, in writing, for a term not less than the
license period except, however, that such license may thereafter be
renewed without the requirement of a lease, management agreement or
other agreement giving the applicant control over the food and beverage
service at the premises, as herein provided. This subdivision shall not
apply to premises leased from government agencies, as defined under
subdivision twelve-c of section three of this chapter; provided,
however, that the appropriate administrator of such government agency
provides some form of written documentation regarding the terms of
occupancy under which the applicant is leasing said premises from the
government agency for presentation to the state liquor authority at the
time of the license application. Such documentation shall include the
terms of occupancy between the applicant and the government agency,
including, but not limited to, any short-term leasing agreements or
written occupancy agreements.

2. No premises shall be licensed to sell liquors and/or wines at
retail for off premises consumption, unless said premises shall be
located in a store, the principal entrance to which shall be from the
street level and located on a public thoroughfare in premises which may
be occupied, operated or conducted for business, trade or industry or on
an arcade or sub-surface thoroughfare leading to a railroad terminal.
There may be not more than one additional entrance which shall be from
the street level and located on and giving access to and from a public
or private parking lot or parking area having space for not less than
five automobiles.

3. (a) No retail license to sell liquor and/or wine for off-premises
consumption shall be granted for any premises which shall be located on
the same street or avenue, and within two hundred feet of a building
occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of
worship; the measurements to be taken in a straight line from the center
of the nearest entrance to the building used for such school, church,
synagogue or other place of worship to the center of the nearest
entrance of the premises to be licensed; except, however, that no
license shall be denied to any premises at which a license under this
chapter has been in existence continuously from a date prior to the date
when a building on the same street or avenue and within two hundred feet
of said premises has been occupied exclusively as a school, church,
synagogue or other place of worship.

(b) Within the context of this subdivision, the word "entrance" shall
mean a door of a school, of a house of worship, or of the premises
sought to be licensed, regularly used to give ingress to students of the
school, to the general public attending the place of worship, and to
patrons or guests of the premises proposed to be licensed, except that
where a school or house of worship is set back from a public
thoroughfare, the walkway or stairs leading to any such door shall be
deemed an entrance; and the measurement shall be taken to the center of
the walkway or stairs at the point where it meets the building line or
public thoroughfare. A door which has no exterior hardware, or which is
used solely as an emergency or fire exit, or for maintenance purposes,
or which leads directly to a part of a building not regularly used by
the general public or patrons, is not deemed an "entrance".

(c) Within the context of this subdivision, a building occupied as a
place of worship does not cease to be "exclusively" occupied as a place
of worship by incidental uses that are not of a nature to detract from
the predominant character of the building as a place of worship, such
uses which include, but which are not limited to: the conduct of legally
authorized games of bingo or other games of chance held as a means of
raising funds for the not-for-profit religious organization which
conducts services at the place of worship or for other not-for-profit
organizations or groups; use of the building for fund-raising
performances by or benefitting the not-for-profit religious
organizations which conducts services at the place of worship or other
not-for-profit organizations or groups; the use of the building by other
religious organizations or groups for religious services or other
purposes; the conduct of social activities by or for the benefit of the
congregants; the use of the building for meetings held by organizations
or groups providing bereavement counseling to persons having suffered
the loss of a loved one, or providing advice or support for conditions
or diseases including, but not limited to, alcoholism, drug addiction,
cancer, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, or Alzheimer's disease; the
use of the building for blood drives, health screenings, health
information meetings, yoga classes, exercise classes or other activities
intended to promote the health of the congregants or other persons; and
use of the building by non-congregant members of the community for
private social functions. The building occupied as a place of worship
does not cease to be "exclusively" occupied as a place of worship where
the not-for-profit religious organization occupying the place of worship
accepts the payment of funds to defray costs related to another party's
use of the building.

5. No retail licensee of liquor and/or wine for off-premises
consumption shall keep upon the licensed premises any liquors and/or
wines in any cask, barrel, keg, hogshead or other container, except in
the original sealed package, as received from the manufacturer or
wholesaler. Such containers shall have affixed thereto such labels as
may be required by the rules of the liquor authority, together with all
necessary federal revenue and New York state excise tax stamps, as
required by law. Such containers shall not be opened nor its contents
consumed on the premises where sold, except for the purpose of wine
tasting or sampling by any person pursuant to authorization to conduct
such a sampling or tasting pursuant to subdivision three of section
seventy-six of this chapter except those to whom sales are prohibited in
section sixty-five of this chapter. The provisions of this subdivision
shall not prohibit a licensed winery or farm winery from selling or
delivering wine to a consumer for off-premises consumption in a
container not to exceed four liters in capacity that shall have a
temporarily secured seal for purposes of removing the wine from the
premises.

6. Each person licensed to sell liquor and/or wine for off-premises
consumption shall have painted on the front window of the licensed
premises, the name of the licensee together with the inscription, "New
York State Retail Liquor or Wine Store License No. .........," as the
case may be, in uniform letters not less than three and one-half inches
in height.

7. No sign of any kind printed, painted or electric, advertising any
brand of liquors or wines shall be permitted on the exterior or interior
of such premises, except by permission of the liquor authority.

8. No retail licensee, for off-premises consumption, shall transport
liquors or wines in any vehicle owned and operated or hired and operated
by such retail licensee, for off-premises consumption, except liquors
and wines transported to the home of a purchaser not to be resold by the
purchaser, unless there shall be attached to or inscribed upon both
sides of such vehicle a sign, showing the name and address of the
licensee together with the following inscription, "New York State Retail
Liquor or Wine Store License No. . . . . . . . . . ," as the case may
be, in uniform letters not less than three and one-half inches in
height, except deliveries may be made in passenger type vehicles owned
by the licensee and operated by the licensee or his agent, or hired by
the licensee and operated by the licensee or his agent, provided the
person making the delivery shall have upon his person while so
delivering a photostatic copy of the current license issued by the
authority. In lieu of such sign, a retail licensee may have in the cab
of such vehicle a photostatic copy of its current license issued by the
authority, and such copy duly authenticated by the authority.

9. No retail licensee for off-premises consumption shall deliver any
liquors or wines except in vehicles owned and operated by such licensee,
or hired and operated by such licensee from a trucking or transportation
company registered with the liquor authority, and shall only make such
deliveries at the premises of the purchaser.

10. (a) Each retail licensee of liquor and/or wine for off-premises
consumption shall have conspicuously displayed within the interior of
the licensed premises where sales are made and where it can be readily
inspected by consumers a printed price list of the liquors and/or wines
offered for sale therein; and no liquor and/or wine shall be sold except
at the price set forth in such list;

(b) No screen, blind, curtain, partition, article or thing shall be
permitted in the windows or upon the doors of such licensed premises,
which shall prevent a clear view into the interior of such licensed
premises from the sidewalk, at all times; and

(c) No booth, screen, partition or other obstruction shall be
permitted in the interior of said licensed premises.

11. No retail licensee of liquor and/or wine for off-premises
consumption shall keep or permit to be kept upon the licensed premises,
any liquors and/or wines in any unsealed bottle or other unsealed
container, except for the purpose of wine tasting or sampling by any
person pursuant to authorization to conduct such a sampling or tasting
pursuant to subdivision three of section seventy-six of this chapter
except those to whom sales are prohibited in section sixty-five of this
chapter. The provisions of this subdivision shall not prohibit a
licensed winery or farm winery from selling or delivering wine to a
consumer for off-premises consumption in a container not to exceed four
liters in capacity that shall have a temporarily secured seal for
purposes of removing the wine from the premises.

12. No retail licensee of liquor and/or wine for off-premises
consumption shall sell or deliver any liquors and/or wines to any person
with knowledge of, or with reasonable cause to believe, that the person
to whom such liquors and/or wines are so sold or delivered, has acquired
the same for the purpose of peddling them from place to place, or of
selling or giving them away in violation of the provisions of this
chapter or in violation of the rules and regulations of the liquor
authority.

14. (a) No premises licensed to sell liquor and/or wine for
off-premises consumption shall be permitted to remain open:

(i) On Sunday before ten o'clock ante meridian and after ten o'clock
post meridian.

(ii) On any day between midnight and eight o'clock antemeridian.

In any community where daylight saving time is in effect, such time
shall be deemed the standard time for the purpose of this subdivision.

(b) This subdivision shall only be interpreted to prohibit the sale of
liquor and/or wine for off-premises consumption when it is closed to the
public, provided however, retail licensees may undertake all other
activities allowed during the course of normal business operations
including but not limited to:

(i) placing orders with or taking deliveries from wholesalers;

(ii) meeting with individuals who have valid solicitors permits issued
by the liquor authority;

(iii) stocking shelves;

(iv) filling or building displays; and

(v) rotating product on store shelves.

15. Each retail licensee for off-premises consumption shall keep and
maintain upon the licensed premises, adequate books and records of all
transactions involving the business transacted by such licensee, which
shall show the amount of liquors and wines, purchased by such licensee
together with the names, license numbers and places of business of the
persons from whom the same were purchased, and the amount involved in
such purchases, as well as the amount of liquors or wines, sold by such
licensee, and the amount involved in each sale. Such books and records
shall be available for inspection by any authorized representative of
the liquor authority.

16. No retail licensee to sell liquors and/or wines for off-premises
consumption shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any premises
where liquors, wines or beer are manufactured or sold at wholesale or
any other premises where liquor or wine is sold at retail for
off-premises consumption, by stock ownership, interlocking directors,
mortgage or lien on any personal or real property or by any other means.
Any lien, mortgage or other interest or estate, however, now held by
such retailer on or in the personal or real property of such
manufacturer or wholesaler, which mortgage, lien, interest or estate was
acquired on or before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred
thirty-two, shall not be included within the provisions of this
subdivision; provided, however, the burden of establishing the time of
the accrual of the interest comprehended by this subdivision, shall be
upon the person who claims to be entitled to the protection and
exemption afforded hereby.

17. No retail licensee for off-premises consumption shall make or
cause to be made any loan to any person engaged in the manufacture or
sale of liquors, wines or beer at wholesale. No retail licensee to sell
liquors and/or wines for off-premises consumption shall make or cause to
be made any loan to any person engaged in the manufacture or sale of
liquors, wines or beer at wholesale or to any person engaged in the sale
of liquors and/or wines at retail for off-premises consumption.

18. A drug store holding a permit to sell liquors and/or wines for
off-premises consumption pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to
the following conditions:

(a) Liquors and/or wines sold by it shall not be consumed on the
premises where sold or in any outbuilding, yard, booth or garden
appertaining thereto or connected therewith.

(b) Such permittee shall keep and maintain upon the licensed premises,
adequate books and records, which shall show the amount of liquors and
wines, in gallons, purchased by such permittee together with the names,
license numbers and places of business, of the persons from whom the
same were purchased and the amount involved in such purchases, which
books and records shall be available for inspection by any authorized
representative of the liquor authority.

(c) No liquor or wine shall be displayed in any window of the premises
designated in the drug store permit.

(d) No drug store permittee shall use any placard or card advertising
the sale of any liquor or wine unless such card, placard or
advertisement shall conspicuously state that the sale of liquor or wine
in the said premises designated in the drug store permit is limited to
medicinal liquor to be sold by prescription only.

20. Each retail licensee of liquor and/or wine shall designate the
price of each item of liquor or wine by attaching to or otherwise
displaying immediately adjacent to each such item displayed in the
interior of the licensed premises where sales are made a price tag, sign
or placard setting forth the bottle price at which each such item is
offered for sale therein.

21. No retail license to sell liquor and/or wine for consumption off
the premises shall be granted for any public billiard or pocket billiard
room, or for establishments of any description in which billiards is
played or which maintains any apparatus or paraphernalia for the playing
of billiards or pocket billiards and is conducted as a public place of
business for profit. Notwithstanding any prohibition to the contrary, a
license may be issued to an establishment wherein billiards or pocket
billiards are played or may be played on a table which measures not more
than three feet by six feet provided that not more than two such tables
are in the establishment at any one time and further provided that the
cue sticks used, and available for use, are made of light plexiglass or
some similar light material.

22. No person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at retail for
off-premises consumption, shall suffer or permit any gambling, or offer
any gambling on the licensed premises, or suffer or permit illicit drug
activity on the licensed premises. The use of the licensed premises or
any part thereof for the sale of lottery tickets, when duly authorized
and lawfully conducted thereon, shall not constitute gambling within the
meaning of this subdivision.

23. All premises licensed under sections fifty-four, fifty-four-a,
sixty-three and seventy-nine of this chapter shall be subject to
inspection by any peace officer described in subdivision four of section
2.10 of the criminal procedure law acting pursuant to his special
duties, or police officer or any duly authorized representative of the
state liquor authority, during the hours when the said premises are open
for the transaction of business.

24. The provisions of subdivisions sixteen and seventeen of this
section shall not apply to any interest in a wholesale premise outside
the United States, held by any business or entity located on any parcel
of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City,
County and State of New York, bounded and described as follows:

Beginning at a point on the southerly side of 72nd Street distant 179
feet easterly from the southerly corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 72nd
Street; Running thence southerly and parallel with the easterly side of
Amsterdam Avenue 102 feet 2 inches to the center line of the block;
Thence easterly and parallel with the southerly side of 72nd Street 21
feet; Thence northerly and parallel with the easterly side of Amsterdam
Avenue and part of the distance through a party wall 102 feet 2 inches
to the southerly side of 72nd Street; Thence westerly along the
southerly side of 72nd Street 21 feet to the point or place of
Beginning.