Exempts certain property within Manhattan in the city of New York from the prohibition of alcohol sales within a certain distance of a building occupied exclusively as a school or place of worship.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A11457B
SPONSOR: Rules (Fall) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to an
exemption for certain property from the prohibition of alcohol sales
within a certain distance of a school or place of worship
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To authorize the State Liquor Authority to issue an on-premises retail
license for a specifically identified property in Lower Manhattan that
is otherwise restricted under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law's 200-
foot rule regarding proximity to a place of worship.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision 7 of section 64 of the alco-
holic beverage control law by adding a new paragraph (e-18) creating a
narrowly tailored exemption to the 200-foot rule for a specifically
described premises located wholly within Manhattan. The bill permits the
issuance of an on-premises retail license for the sale of food or bever-
ages at retail for on-premises consumption at the designated location.
The bill contains a detailed legal description of the affected parcel
and associated easement parcel.
Section five of the bill sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law generally prohib-
its the issuance of an on-premises liquor license for establishments
located within 200 feet of a building occupied exclusively as a church,
synagogue, or other place of worship. White this restriction serves an
important public purpose, there are circumstances where a narrowly
tailored exemption is appropriate due to the unique characteristics of a
particular property and surrounding commercial environment.
This legislation authorizes the State Liquor Authority to consider and
issue a retail license for a specifically identified premises in Lower
Manhattan that would otherwise be prohibited solely because of its prox-
imity to a place of worship. The property is located in a dense mixed-
use commercial area where restaurants and hospitality establishments are
common and contribute significantly to neighborhood vitality and econom-
ic activity.
The bill does not create a broad statewide exemption or weaken the
underlying protections of the 200-foot rule. Instead, it provides a
site-specific remedy applicable only to the parcel described in the
legislation. Granting this exemption would support economic activity,
commercial occupancy, and activation of the property while preserving
the State Liquor Authority's broader regulatory authority over licens-
ing, public safety, and operational compliance.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
11457--B
IN ASSEMBLY
May 19, 2026
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Fall) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Economic Development --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee
with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to an
exemption for certain property from the prohibition of alcohol sales
within a certain distance of a school or place of worship
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 7 of section 64 of the alcoholic beverage
2 control law is amended by adding a new paragraph (e-18) to read as
3 follows:
4 (e-18) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdi-
5 vision, the authority may issue a retail license for on-premises
6 consumption for a premises which shall be located within two hundred
7 feet of a building occupied as a school, church, synagogue or other
8 place of worship, provided such premises constitute a premises for the
9 sale of food or beverages at retail for consumption on the premises
10 located wholly within the boundaries of the county of Manhattan, bounded
11 and described as follows:
12 AS TO THE FEE PARCEL:
13 ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and
14 being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York,
15 bounded and described as follows:
16 BEGINNING at the corner formed by the intersection of the Easterly
17 side of Greenwich Street with the Southerly side of Thames Street;
18 RUNNING THENCE Easterly along the Southerly side of Thames Street, 119
19 feet 3-1/2 inches to the ground now or late belonging to James Walker
20 and formerly leased to E. Devoe and M. Williams;
21 THENCE Southerly along the same, 79 feet 8 inches to the Southerly
22 line of land conveyed by the Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the
23 Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Stephens of the City of New York to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15941-06-6
A. 11457--B 2
1 The Hamilton Building Company by Deed dated February 1, 1907 and
2 recorded February 4, 1907 in Liber 110 Cp 42 Sec. 1 in the Office of the
3 Register of the County of New York;
4 THENCE Westerly along the same, 106 feet 10 inches, more or less
5 (deed) 107.01 feet (actual) to the Easterly side of Greenwich Street;
6 and
7 THENCE Northerly along the said Easterly side of Greenwich Street, 82
8 feet 7 inches to the point or place of BEGINNING.
9 AS TO THE EASEMENT PARCEL:
10 Easements, for the benefits of Fee Parcel, over the parcel of land
11 described below, for light and air, and unobstructed view, above a lower
12 limiting plane at an elevation of 129.38 feet above Datum Level (such
13 Datum Level 2.75 feet above the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
14 Datum, mean sea level, Sandy Hook, New Jersey), as described in (and
15 subject to the terms and conditions of) (i) Section 2(c) of that certain
16 Zoning Lot Development and Easement Agreement dated September 7, 2012,
17 between 86 Trinity Place LLC, as Owner, and 22 Thames Street LLC, as
18 Developer, recorded 10/9/12 in CRFN 2012000398746 in the Office of the
19 City Register of the City of New York and (ii) that certain Light and
20 Air Easement Agreement dated September 7, 2012, between 86 Trinity Place
21 LLC, as Grantor, and Henry II Thames LP, as Grantee, recorded 10/9/12 in
22 CRFN 2012000398750 in the Office of the City Register of the City of New
23 York.
24 ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and
25 being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York,
26 bounded and described as follows:
27 BEGINNING at a point on the Easterly side of Greenwich Street, distant
28 82 feet 8 inches Southerly from the corner formed by the intersection of
29 the Easterly side of Greenwich Street with the Southerly side of
30 Thames Street;
31 RUNNING THENCE Southerly along the Easterly side of Greenwich Street,
32 178 feet 2 inches to the Northerly face of the Northerly wall of the
33 building erected on the premises adjoining on the South;
34 THENCE Easterly along the Northerly face of the Northerly wall of the
35 building on the premises adjoining on the South and on a line in contin-
36 uation thereof, 107 feet 1-1/4 inches;
37 THENCE Northwesterly on a line forming an angle in the Northwest quad-
38 rant of 84 degrees 12 minutes 20 seconds with the last mentioned course,
39 47 feet 8-1/4 inches to the centre of a party wall;
40 THENCE Easterly along the centre of said party wall, 52 feet 2-1/2
41 inches to the Westerly side of Trinity Place;
42 THENCE Northerly along the Westerly side of Trinity Place, 124 feet
43 7-3/4 inches to the Southerly face of the Southerly wall of the building
44 erected on the premises adjoining on the North;
45 THENCE Westerly along the Southerly face of said wall and on a line
46 drawn in the continuation thereof, 74 feet 5 inches;
47 THENCE Northerly, 4 inches;
48 THENCE Westerly and partly along the Southerly face of the Southerly
49 wall of the building adjoining on the North, 107 feet 1-3/4 inches to
50 the point or place of BEGINNING.
51 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
