New York Assembly Bill A08639

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/22/25
• Refer: 5/22/25
• Report Pass: 5/27/25
• Refer: 5/27/25
• Report Pass: 6/4/25
• Refer: 6/4/25
• Report Pass: 6/6/25
• Engrossed: 6/9/25
• Refer: 6/9/25
• Engrossed: 6/12/25
• Enrolled: 8/15/25
• Chaptered: 8/22/25
• Passed: 8/22/25

Caption

Allows the state liquor authority to issue a retail license for on-premises consumption for a premises which shall be located within two hundred feet of a building occupied as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship.

Summary

A08639 amends New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to create a narrow exception to the state’s 200-foot rule for on-premises liquor licenses. Under current law, the State Liquor Authority generally may not issue certain retail liquor licenses for premises located within 200 feet of a school or place of worship. This bill authorizes the SLA to issue such a license for one specifically described premises in Brooklyn, Kings County, even though it is within 200 feet of a school, church, synagogue, or other place of worship. The bill is highly site-specific: it applies only to a food or beverage retail premises within a precisely defined parcel near Nostrand Avenue and Rutland Road in the Borough of Brooklyn. It takes effect immediately and does not broadly change the 200-foot rule statewide; instead, it creates a special statutory carveout for this location alone.

Impact

The bill would amend section 64 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law by adding a new paragraph authorizing the State Liquor Authority to issue an on-premises retail liquor license for a single identified Brooklyn premises despite its proximity to protected institutions. In practical terms, it overrides the usual licensing restriction for that parcel only, while leaving the general statewide prohibition intact for other locations. The affected parties are the premises owner/operator seeking the license, nearby schools and houses of worship, and the SLA, which gains express authority to approve the application.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad legislative support and little visible opposition. It advanced unanimously or near-unanimously through committee stages and passed the Assembly and Senate floor votes overwhelmingly, indicating a generally favorable view of the request. The voting pattern suggests lawmakers treated it as a local or special-interest licensing measure rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

The main point of contention, to the extent one exists, is the bill’s departure from the ordinary 200-foot licensing restriction that protects schools and places of worship from nearby liquor outlets. Supporters appear to favor a narrowly tailored exception for a specific Brooklyn business location, while any concern would likely come from those who view special carveouts as undermining uniform liquor licensing standards or neighborhood protections. The recorded votes show only minimal dissent, so opposition was limited and not strongly reflected in the legislative record provided.