Gov. Cuomo defends food-with-drink mandate, saying law has always existed
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday defended his strict food-with-drinks requirement as a way to quell curbside boozing, saying the rule has always existed — as state law.
“There is no bar that only serves alcohol,” Cuomo said at a press conference at his Manhattan office Thursday when asked about The Post front page story that labeled him “Drinktator” for his edict that a bar patron must order a food dish if they want to drink.
“To be a bar, you had to have food available — soups, sandwiches, etc. More than just hors d’oeuvres, chicken wings. You had to have some substantive food — the lowest level of substantive food were sandwiches.”
The governor’s comments come a day after a tweak by the State Liquor Authority requiring bars to sell more “substantial” snacks in order to sell alcoholic beverages.
That law, which dates back to 1964, does not cover “Cuomo chips” — a $1 bag of potato chips one upstate bar owner was tacking onto his customers’ tabs as a cheap way to fall into compliance.
“This is a law going back to the old days,” Cuomo said. “The bar had to have food available, soups, sandwiches — even Cuomo chips were not enough.”
Patrons are now required to be seated and order a food item to enjoy drinks while dining al fresco — though nowhere in the law Cuomo cites does it force customers to buy a bite.
Cuomo blamed the recent surge of outdoor drinking on the state having just one license for bars and restaurants, which were green-lit to reopen with outdoor dining last month as part of Phase Two.
“Since we only have one license, we reopened bars and restaurants, but that was for outdoor dining,” Cuomo said. “It was not for outdoor drinking. There was no license that would allow you to have a block party in front of the bar.”
Cuomo then called on local police departments to help curb large outdoor gatherings outside bars.
“We need the local government to do it, the NYPD, we need the Nassau police, we need the Suffolk police in the Hamptons, we need the Erie County police, we need the Albany police to do their job,” he said.