[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Albany 7-18-1983
by L.L. No. 2-1983 as Ch. III of the 1983 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Includes all distilled or rectified spirits, wine, fermented and
malt liquors.
Includes beer, lager beer, ale, porter and similar fermented malt
beverages, the sale of which is not prohibited by a statute of the United
States. "Illegal beer" means beer the sale of which is prohibited by the law
of the United States.
Includes a yard or open space used as a restaurant, or adjoining
a restaurant and owned and operated by the same person as such restaurant.
Includes the licensed premises and also any part of the building
in which such premises is contained and any part of any other building connected
with such building by direct access or by a common entrance. It shall also
include the building in which cooking or preparation of food for any beer
garden is carried on.
A group of individuals, incorporated or otherwise, which is the owner,
lessee or occupant of an establishment, which includes a restaurant, operated
in a bona fide manner solely for objects of recreational, social, patriotic,
political or athletic nature but not for pecuniary gain, and the property
as well as the advantages of which belong bona fide to all the members; "club"
as herein used also means the establishment so operated.
Include and mean a finding of guilt resulting from a plea of guilty,
the decision of a court or Magistrate or the verdict of a jury, irrespective
of the pronouncing of judgment or the suspension thereof.
Any person who sells at wholesale beverage for the sale of which
a license is required under the provisions of this article.
A place registered by the New York State Board of Pharmacy for sale
of drugs.
Any retail establishment where foodstuffs are regularly and customarily
sold in a bona fide manner for consumption off the premises.
A building regularly used and kept open as such in a bona fide manner
for the feeding and lodging of guests, where all who conduct themselves properly
and who are able and ready to pay for such services are received if there
are accommodations for them. The term "hotel" shall also include an apartment
hotel wherein apartments are rented for fixed periods of time, either furnished
or unfurnished, to the occupants of which the keeper of such "hotel" regularly
supplies food in a restaurant in such "hotel."
A license issued pursuant to this article.
Any person holding a license.
Includes the feminine unless otherwise specifically provided.
A person who, whether as a charter member or admitted in agreement
with the bylaws of the club has become a bona fide member thereof, who maintains
his membership by the payment of his annual dues in a bona fide manner in
accordance with such bylaws and whose name and address is entered on the list
of members.
Any person who sells at retail any beverage for the sale of which
a license is required under the provisions of this article.
Includes an individual, copartnership, corporation, society and joint-stock
company.
That part of a building for which a license has been issued.
Includes the room or rooms where it is sold, also any part of the
building in which such room is contained or any building connected with such
building by direct access or by a common entrance which shall also include
any beer garden and building in which cooking or preparation of food for such
beer garden is carried out.
Only a room regularly and in a bona fide manner used and kept open
for the serving of meals to guests for compensation, which has suitable table
accommodations for at least twenty (20) guests therein at one and the same
time, and a kitchen connected therewith containing conveniences for cooking
sufficient to provide meals in a bona fide manner for twenty (20) guests at
one and the same time. Table accommodations, for the purpose of this definition,
shall not include seats or chairs arranged at a counter, bar or similar contrivance.
The term "guest," within the meaning of this definition, is a person who,
during the hours when meals are regularly served therein, goes to a "restaurant"
for the purpose of obtaining, and actually orders and obtains at such time
in good faith, a meal therein.
A sale to a consumer or to any person for any purpose other than
for resale.
Any transfer, exchange or barter in any manner or of any means whatsoever
for a consideration and includes and means all sales made by any person, whether
principal proprietor, agent or employee. "To sell" includes to solicit or
receive, whether to keep or expose for sale and to keep with intent to sell.
Includes the retail sale of beer.
Any person desiring to establish, maintain or operate a place wherein
beer may be sold on or off the premises or to distribute as defined herein
shall make application for the license to the Chief of Police upon blanks
prepared and furnished by him. Such application shall contain the names and
residences of the applicant, if an individual, firm or partnership, or the
names of the officers and their residences if the applicant is a society,
club, corporation or association of persons.
A.Â
If the person be an individual or copartnership, his
or their previous places of employment, whether married or single, whether
he or they have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor, and the length
of time of residence in the City of Albany.
B.Â
The premises where the sale of beer as provided in this
article is to be conducted or maintained, giving street number.
C.Â
Whether such business is to be carried on in connection
with some other kind of business.
D.Â
The name of the owner of the premises wherein traffic
in beer is to be conducted.
E.Â
The floor on which such traffic in beer is to be located
and whether any partition or obstruction separates or divides such room or
rooms or in any way prevents a clear view thereof from the street if on the
ground floor, and from the entrance on any floor above the ground floor.
F.Â
Such other information as the Chief of Police may from
time to time require.
G.Â
The application shall be signed and acknowledged by the
applicant before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer
oaths.
Upon receipt of any application the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation
to be made of the facts stated in such application, of the character and reputation
of the applicant or applicants for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
same are as represented in such application and if the cleanliness and sanitary
condition of such premises, equipment and methods to be used with a view to
the preservation of the public health, welfare and safety. For the purpose
of such investigation the Chief of Police shall have the assistance and cooperation
of the Superintendent of Public Buildings, Health Officer, and every other
department, bureau or official of the City.
The approval of such a license may be refused by the Mayor to any applicant
or applicants if any of the persons in the application or connected therewith
are not of good moral character and have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
If the approval of the application is rejected, the Chief of Police shall
notify the applicant in writing, giving the reasons for the same.
No license shall be issued to any corporation or joint-stock company
for the traffic in beer as provided for herein, except in the conduct of a
"restaurant" or "hotel" unless if the applicant is a corporation, the principal
place of business of such corporation is in the City of Albany and at least
one (1) of the executive officers of the corporation is a resident of the
City of Albany, and if the applicant is a joint-stock company, the principal
place of business of the joint-stock company is in the City of Albany, and
the legal resident of at least one (1) of the executive officers is in the
City of Albany. No person shall receive a license to traffic in "beer" who
has been convicted of a felony; who is under the age of twenty-one (21) years;
who is not a citizen of the United States; who is a copartnership, unless
one (1) or more of the members of such copartnership owning at least one-half
(1/2) interest in the business thereof shall be a citizen of the United States.
Licenses issued under authority of this article shall be of three (3)
kinds: on sale license, which shall permit the licensee to sell beverage for
consumption on the premises only; off sale license, which shall permit the
licensee to sell such beverage in original package for consumption off the
premises only; and distributor's or wholesaler's license, which shall permit
the licensee to sell and distribute beer in case lots for home consumption
or other trade to be drunk off the premises.
All applicants for license shall pay to the City of Albany a license
fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.) per annum, the same to be paid to the Chief
of Police before the license is issued. Each kind of license shall be good
until March 31 next succeeding the date of issuance of said license.
On sale licenses shall be granted only to bona fide restaurants, beer
gardens, hotels, clubs and other places where beer can be sold as designated
in this article. Off sale licenses shall only be granted to grocery stores
and drug stores as described herein.
The Chief of Police shall keep a record of all applications for licenses and shall issue a license after each application has been approved and the license fee paid by the licensee. Such license shall authorize the licensee to sell beer as described in § 105-1 of this article between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight of that day.
All licenses required by the provisions of this article to sell beer
as herein described shall expire on the first day of April next succeeding
the date of their issue, and at which time they shall be issued for a further
period of twelve (12) months upon paying the license fee herein provided.
Whatever the date of the issuance of said license there shall be due and payable
for such license a license fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.), which allows
the licensee to sell beer as herein provided until the first day of April
next.
The Mayor and the Chief of Police shall be empowered to determine whether
or not a certain place shall be licensed for the sale of beer as described
in this article, and the determination of the Mayor and the Chief of Police
shall be final.
No person, firm, association or corporation shall sell or offer for
sale by retail within the City of Albany any beer without having first obtained
a license so to do.
The license issued in pursuance to the provisions of this article shall
authorize the licensee to sell in addition to the beverage authorized to be
sold herein described as beer all of the beverages enumerated in Section 1
of an ordinance adopted by the Common Council of the City of Albany on the
third day of April 1933, without the payment of an additional license fee.
The license herein issued may be suspended by the Chief of Police at
any time for violation of the terms and conditions of this article or any
other ordinance of the City of Albany or the laws of the State of New York
or of the United States. The license may also be revoked by the Chief of Police
with the approval of the Mayor at any time for violation of the terms and
conditions of this article or any other ordinance of the City of Albany or
the laws of the State of New York or of the United States. If the license
is suspended the Chief of Police shall determine whether or not the causes
causing the suspension are true, and if true the license shall be revoked
with the approval of the Mayor. If the person whose license is revoked desires
a hearing the Chief of Police shall give such hearing in accordance with the
regulations and rules duly adopted and promulgated by the Chief of Police
with the approval of the Mayor.
The Mayor and the Chief of Police shall provide printed licenses, books
and records for the proper carrying out of the provisions of this article,
and shall be authorized with the consent of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment
to provide any additional help that may be necessary for such purpose.
The licensee shall display his license in a public and conspicuous place
at the place where the license shall be applicable so that the same shall
always be easily seen and read by any person entering said licensed place
for the purpose of purchasing the goods herein authorized to be purchased.
The Mayor of the City of Albany and the Chief of Police are hereby authorized
to promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with law for the carrying
out of the provisions of this article.
This article has been adopted for the purpose of preserving and caring
for the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of the inhabitants of
the City.
If any provisions of this article or the application thereof to any
person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of said
article and the application of such article to other persons and circumstances
shall not be affected thereby.
Any person who shall conduct a refreshment business without the license
required by this article or who shall conduct or attempt to conduct a refreshment
business during the period when his or its license is suspended or who shall
violate any of the terms or provisions of this article shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred fifty
dollars ($150.) in amount or to imprisonment not exceeding one hundred fifty
(150) days, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
This article shall be known and shall be cited as the "City of Albany
Open Container Ordinance."
The City of Albany recognizes that the use of alcoholic beverages within
public places and areas in the City of Albany must be adequately controlled
and regulated so as to prevent public disorder, nuisances, loud noise, littering
and other acts and conditions detrimental to the health, safety, peace and
welfare of the residents of the City of Albany, and this article is intended
to provide such control and regulation.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any liquid intended for human consumption containing more than one-half
of one percent (1/2 of 1%) by volume of alcohol.
Any bottle, glass, cup or similar article, regardless of labeling,
designated to hold, or capable of holding, a liquid.
Any person in whom is vested ownership, dominion, title or a right
of possession in property and shall include, but is not limited to, tenants
of rental housing.
A parking area for one (1) or more vehicles designed to be used by
patrons or employees of any commercial, industrial, professional or eleemosynary
place of business, including but not limited to such enterprises as may be
duly licensed for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises.
A place to which the public or a substantial group of persons has
access, including but not limited to any highway, street, road, sidewalk,
lane, public parking lot, shopping area, place of amusement, playground, park,
beach, any and all publicly owned land(s) located within the City of Albany
and private property where one (1) or more persons have gathered without the
consent of the owner of the property, except that the definition of a "public
place" shall not include the specific confines of those premises duly licensed
for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises or within.
Includes a fair, picnic, block party or other community gathering
at any public place, at which time alcoholic beverages will be consumed, possessed
with intent to consume or sold.
Any vehicles or motor vehicles as defined by the New York State Vehicle
and Traffic Law.
A.Â
The possession of alcoholic beverage in open containers
in a public place is prohibited. Unless otherwise authorized and except as
hereinafter provided, no person shall have in his possession, with intent
to consume, an opened and unsealed bottle, can or other container containing
any alcoholic beverage in or on any public place in the City of Albany or
in any vehicle which is parked, being drawn or moving on or over a public
place. This subsection shall not apply within the specific confines of those
premises duly licensed for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages
on the premises or within.
B.Â
Consumption of alcoholic beverage in a public place is
prohibited. Except as herein after provided, no person shall consume alcoholic
beverages in or on any public place or in or on any vehicle which is parked,
being drawn or moving on or over a public place. This subsection shall not
apply within the specific confines of those premises duly licensed for the
sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises or within.
C.Â
Improper disposal of containers is prohibited. No person
shall break, leave, discard or deposit in any manner any glass, bottle, glassware,
crockery, can or container of any kind, make or description in or on any public
place of any nature within the City of Albany or on any private property,
unless and except that it is part of the act of depositing the same in a trash
device specifically designed for the retention of trash.
Notwithstanding any provisions of this article, it shall not be unlawful
for any person to consume or possess with intent to consume an alcoholic beverage
in or on any public place in the City of Albany, provided that such alcoholic
beverage is consumed or possessed with intent to consume pursuant to a special
event permit issued by the City Clerk of Albany.
[Amended 7-18-1984; 4-7-1986]
A.Â
At least twenty (20) business days prior to the proposed
date of any special event, any person twenty-one (21) years of age or older
may apply to the City Clerk of the City of Albany, on his own behalf or on
behalf of an organization, for a special event permit to possess and consume
alcoholic beverages described herein during or in the conduct of any special
event. For good cause, the City Clerk may waive the requirement that the application
be made at least twenty (20) business days prior to the proposed special event.
B.Â
The application shall contain the following information:
(1)Â
The name(s) of the applicant(s) and the address and telephone
number of each. If the applicant is an organization, the name and address
of the organization and its officers shall be given.
(2)Â
The purpose of the special event, the proposed location
of the special event, the proposed date(s) and times of operation, the number
of persons expected to attend, the security measures planned, what precautions
will be taken to ensure that minors will not be served nor allowed to consume
alcoholic beverages, and what steps will be taken to ensure the proper cleanup
and restoration of the premises, after use, to its prior condition.
(3)Â
Such other information as the City Clerk may deem reasonably
necessary.
C.Â
A fee of $11 shall be required for a special event permit
application, whether or not a permit is issued for a special event.
[Amended 11-25-2002 by Ord. No. 42.112.02]
D.Â
Where the City Clerk of the City of Albany shall determine
from the information provided in the application for a special event permit
that the public health, safety and general welfare of the City of Albany will
not be endangered by the granting of such a permit, and acting upon the recommendations
of the appropriate officials of the City of Albany, he shall issue a permit,
setting forth the location, number of persons, date and times for which the
permit is effective, conditioned upon the applicant's written agreement to
comply with the terms of such permit.
E.Â
Upon denial by the City Clerk of an application made pursuant to Subsection A hereof, the applicant may appeal the determination of the City Clerk to the Mayor of the City of Albany or his designee by filing a written notice of appeal within five (5) days of denial.
F.Â
A special event permit issued by the City Clerk authorizing
the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages at a special event shall
be conspicuously displayed at such special event.
G.Â
It shall be the responsibility of any police officer
of the City of Albany Police Department, after his finding that the provisions
of the permit for special events are not being followed, to immediately revoke
such permit upon the authority of the Chief of Police or his designee. The
person or organization to whom the permit was issued may appeal such revocation
to the Mayor of the City of Albany by filing a written notice of appeal.
Any person committing an offense against this article shall be guilty
of a violation punishable by a fine not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars
($150.) or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed ten (10) days, or by both
such fine and imprisonment, for the first offense, and by a fine not to exceed
two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) or imprisonment for a term not to exceed
fifteen (15) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, for a second or
subsequent offense.
A.Â
An open bottle or open container in any vehicle shall
be presumptive evidence that the same is in possession, with intent to consume,
of and by all the occupants thereof, and all are in violation hereof.
A.Â
Should any section or provision of this article be declared
unconstitutional or invalid by the courts, such decision shall not affect
the validity of the balance of this article.
B.Â
If any provisions of this article are inconsistent with
any federal or state statute, law, rule or regulation, then such statute,
law, rule or regulation shall prevail.
This article shall take effect on July 13, 1981.
