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Governor Hochul continues to make strides towards her stated goal of improving New York’s antiquated liquor laws. The Governor’s 2023 budget, released in 2022, included temporary legislation legalizing the sale of alcohol for take-out and delivery from restaurants. That temporary legislation is set to expire next year; however, Governor Hochul recently announced her intentions to permanently legalize the sale of alcohol to-go. The temporary legislation was essentially a revival [...]

Governor Hochul’s proposed executive budget for fiscal year 2025 (the “Budget”), released on January 16, 2024, includes a number of provisions which, while falling short of proposing sweeping change, should nonetheless have positive impacts on the liquor licensing and permitting process within the state. In 2022, the Commission to Reform the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (the “Commission”) was formed to vote on whether to recommend changes to state laws to [...]

The Commission to Reform the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (the “Commission”) was created, to vote on whether to recommend changes to the New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (the “ABC Law”) to among other things, assist the New York State Liquor Authority (the “SLA”) with processing applications faster, as well as general industry reform and modernization proposals. The Commission was first convened in August 2022 and issued its final report on [...]

The SLA has emerged victorious from the first round of the ongoing battle with James Dolan with respect to the issues involving his use of facial recognition software to enforce his policy of preventing attorneys from firms handling suits against his properties from entering his venues. On March 30, the Supreme Court dismissed Dolan’s lawsuit on the grounds that the matter was not yet ripe for review. Dolan filed suit against the SLA to vacate the SLA’s pending charges against [...]

Madison Square Garden, the site of many famous fights, is now the venue for a new clash of heavyweights. James Dolan, the owner of Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theater, made headlines in recent months for his policy of preventing attorneys from firms handling civil suits against his properties from entering his venues. The issue is further compounded by the fact that the venues are using facial recognition software to enforce the bans; causing a number of affected law [...]