Cuomo Quietly Extends Popular Drinking Law in Hudson Valley

Drinkers from Poughkeepsie to Newburgh and Kingston to Middletown will be happy to learn that a popular alcohol law was quietly extended yesterday by the governor.

Governor Cuomo could use all the positive press he can get, so it's curious that an announcement about the extension of a wildly popular drinking law was buried at the bottom of a news release by the governor's office yesterday.

With all of the controversy over masks in schools, Cuomo's handling of the pandemic and his ongoing accusations of harassment, the governor should be shouting this news from the rooftop, but instead, it was quickly mentioned as the sixth item on his June 7 Coronavirus Update.

Near the start of the pandemic, New York permitted restaurants and bars to sell "to-go" cocktails, beer and other alcoholic beverages to help restaurants stay in business. This measure has been extended for an additional 30 days. (Drink responsibly)

Designed as a temporary measure by many states across the country, the "to-go" alcohol policy has become widely popular as more and more states slowly convert these emergency acts into law. NBC News reported last week that Nebraska has now joined 14 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing the sale of alcohol to-go permanently. Six other states have extended their temporary laws until at least 2022.

Perhaps the reason there wasn't more fanfare around yesterday's announcement is because New York continues to only extend this popular rule for a month at a time. Many restaurants and customers have been pleading with the state to make this policy permanent. Aside from liquor stores that view the practice as a threat to their business, the "to-go" alcohol rule is one of the very few things that everyone in the state can agree upon.