Hochul rallies support for to-go sales of cocktails

Hochul rallies support for to-go sales of cocktails

e's Bar owner Erin Bellard pours a drink for a customer at her bar on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Monday, May 17, 2021, in New York. As of Wednesday, vaccinated New Yorkers can shed their masks in most situations Wednesday, and restaurants, shops, gyms and many other businesses can go back to full occupancy if all patrons are inoculated. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

(AP)- New York could legalize to-go sales of cocktails, bottles of wine and other alcoholic beverages under a proposal Gov. Kathy Hochul boosted Wednesday at a wine bar in Brooklyn. State liquor regulators would have the power to limit how much wine and liquor restaurants and bars could sell in New York, where local laws prohibiting open containers of alcohol in public are widespread. The Democratic governor said regulators would handle other specific issues posed by reporters Wednesday, including whether restaurants could again sell bottles of liquor to-go. She said the public will have a chance to submit comment.

Photo: e’s Bar owner Erin Bellard pours a drink for a customer at her bar on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Monday, May 17, 2021, in New York. As of Wednesday, vaccinated New Yorkers can shed their masks in most situations Wednesday, and restaurants, shops, gyms and many other businesses can go back to full occupancy if all patrons are inoculated. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)