You are reading

Alcohol for Take Out and Delivery Ends Today as More COVID Restrictions Are Lifted

Photo by Sagar Chaudhray on Unsplash

June 24, 2021 By Ryan Songalia

A temporary provision allowing alcoholic beverages for takeout and delivery will end on Thursday.

The announcement was made Wednesday, and comes in conjunction with the lifting of New York’s COVID-19 emergency order.

“Licensees please be advised that with the ending of our state of emergency and the return to pre-pandemic guidelines, the temporary pandemic-related privileges for to-go and delivery of alcoholic beverages will end after June 24,” tweeted the New York State Liquor Authority.

The measure helped sustain bars and restaurants after they were ordered closed for in-person patronage on March 16, 2020. With bars and restaurants being allowed open at full capacity as of May 19, it has become less vital to the survival of bars.

Both the New York State Senate and Assembly had introduced bills that would extend to-go cocktails for at least another year, but neither legislative body had brought them to a vote before the end of the legislative session on June 10.

Still, restaurant advocates are hoping that state legislators can revive the provision on a permanent basis. Currently, 15 states have passed such bills, according to the New York Times.

“We know the sudden elimination of alcohol to-go will hurt many restaurants and bars that have come to rely on this new revenue stream, and it will be a disappointment for customers who have come to love the popular policy,” said the NYC Hospitality Alliance in an online statement.

The Alliance added that the bill which would have extended alcohol to-go was not voted on because “it was the subject of a massive opposition campaign by New York’s package and liquor store associations and elected officials.” They say they will advocate for its return in the next legislative session.

Beer in to-go containers is still legal, as it had been prior to the pandemic.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens TV actor convicted of 2021 St. Albans murder in real-life crime drama: DA

A TV actor from Rego Park is facing 25 years to life in prison after he was convicted of murder by a jury following a two-week trial in Queens Supreme Court on Friday.

Isaiah Stokes, 45, of 62nd Road, was found guilty of the fatal 2021 ambush shooting of 37-year-old Tyrone Jones in St. Albans on Feb. 7, 2021, as he sat in a parked Jeep Grand Cherokee, waiting for a friend to arrive for lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Dozens injured during pepper spray incident at College Point middle school: FDNY

Mayhem erupted at a College Point school after two young students fired off pepper spray devices, injuring dozens, most of them classmates, on Friday afternoon.

The FDNY received a call reporting the pepper spray incident at around 12:46 p.m. in the cafeteria at MS 379 at 124-06 14th Ave. Firefighters and EMS personnel arrived on the scene at the College Point Collaborative School, where they found 26 patients needing medical attention. Nine were triaged on the scene by an FDNY medical doctor and did not require hospitalization, while eleven students were transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital. All had non-life-threatening injuries, the FDNY said. The children were treated for eye irritation, and all had difficulty breathing