As you may recall, the NYC Hospitality Alliance was appointed by NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to a temporary state commission, known as the “Commission to Study Reform of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.”  

The Commission was tasked with reviewing a list of topics and voting whether to recommend legislative changes to the ABC Law and to review other relevant topics. The Commission’s report is complete and has been released. We are very pleased to report that issues we advocated for on the Commission and since the founding of the NYC Hospitality Alliance have been included in the report’s recommendations, like reforming the 200 and 500 Foot Laws.

The following are selected highlights relevant to restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, which the Commission voted unanimously or strongly in favor of:

• Eliminate the 500 Foot Law.

• Eliminate the 200 Foot Law. 

• Do away with the requirement of licensure within 2 years for New York City/500 ft temp permit applications. 

• Review licensing fee structure. 

• Allow applications to be submitted simultaneous with municipal notice. 

• Allow corporate changes to take effect prior to application for approval. 

• Allow on-premises retailers to purchase from off-premises retailers in limited fashion. 

• Allow all night permits to be issued on weekends. 

• Loosen the tied house laws. 

You may CLICK HERE to read the report and additional Commission materials can be found here. 

NYC Hospitality Alliance extends our deep appreciation and thanks to NYS Assembly Speaker Heastie for our appointment to this Commission. We thank the SLA for their facilitation of the Commission’s work, and we thank our fellow Commission members for their constructive collaboration. 

Please note, the recommendations were requested by the Governor and State Legislature, but they are non-binding and legislative and/or regulatory changes are required to implement the recommendations in most cases, which the NYC Hospitality Alliance will advocate for.