Drinking in New York has long been reserved for private homes or establishments with liquor licenses (or speakeasys!), but how well is the law enforced when it comes to drinking on a stoop or in a public park? Apparently, and unfortunately, the law is still being upheld very well. A few years back the tabloids wondered why cops looked the other way when it came to Chardonnay swilling audiences listening to the symphony in Central Park, while the beer-drinking crowd at a 9/11 memorial in Rockaway incurred plenty of fines.
Have the cops stopped turning a blind eye to imbibers, no matter what their class? OTBKB points to a Park Slope Parent message board posting about an allegedly tame group of picnickers busted for an open bottle of wine in Prospect Park; four cops doled out tickets for the illegal deed, and now "a friend" of the fined is questioning how hard it is to fight.
Meanwhile, someone at the NY Press was recently hassled for savoring a caramel Middle Ages IPA in public view on a friend's Brooklyn stoop. He questioned why open air and sidewalk drinking is allowed at bars and restaurants, but imbibing on one's own stoop is illegal. While there's always Pocket Shots and To-Go margaritas, is it time to allow drinking in designated public spaces around town? After all, other cities allow it (though in London they just banned it on public transport), and public drinking at the city-leased Pier 17 in South Street Seaport hasn't yet led to anarchy. Just bad dancing.
