Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday defended his strict requirement for food with drinks as a way to stifle alcohol consumption on the sidewalk, saying the rule has always existed, like state law.
“There is no bar that only serves alcohol,” Cuomo said at a press conference at his Manhattan office on Thursday when asked about the story on the cover of The Post that labeled him “Drinktator” for his edict that a bar customer must order a plate of food if they want to drink.
“To be a bar, you had to have food available: soups, sandwiches, etc. More than snacks, chicken wings. You had to have some substantive food: the lowest level of substantive food was sandwiches. ”
The governor’s comments come a day after an adjustment by the State Liquor Authority requiring bars to sell more “substantial” snacks to sell alcoholic beverages.
That law, which dates back to 1964, does not cover “Cuomo potato chips” – a $ 1 bag of potato chips that a state bar owner was sticking to his customers’ eyelashes as a cheap way to comply.
“This is a law that goes back to the old days,” said Cuomo. “The bar had to have food available, soups, sandwiches, even Cuomo potatoes were not enough.”
Customers are now required to sit down and order a meal to enjoy drinks while dining al fresco, although nowhere in the Cuomo Act does it require customers to buy a bite.
Cuomo blamed the recent surge in outdoor drinking in the state that it only had a license for bars and restaurants, which were given the green light to reopen with outdoor dining last month as part of Phase Two.
“Since we only have a license, we reopened bars and restaurants, but that was for al fresco dining,” Cuomo said. “It was not for drinking outdoors. There was no license allowing him to have a street party in front of the bar. “
Cuomo then called local police departments to help curb large outdoor gatherings outside of bars.
“We need the local government to do it, the New York police, 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. .
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