Alcohol Sales On Long Beach Boardwalk? Proposed Local Law Change Could Clear The Way

LONG BEACH, NY — The Long Beach City Council will hear public comment on a proposed local law change Tuesday night that could clear the way for alcohol sales on the city’s boardwalk if adopted.

First introduced at the Mar. 18 City Council meeting, the first part of the proposed change would change the wording of a city ordinance that governs the sale of food and beverages along the north boundary of Ocean Beach Park.

Currently, the city code of ordinances states that, “Any restaurant, luncheonette, stand or other business stand situated adjacent to the north boundary of the Ocean Beach Park (i.e., facing the boardwalk) may be permitted to have an opening facing the park…The opening shall be used exclusively for the sale of food and/or nonalcoholic beverages to persons using the park, and shall not at any time be used for entrance to or exit from the park or the waters adjacent thereto.”

The proposal introduced Mar. 18 would remove the word “nonalcoholic” from that section of the code.

The potential changes to city code don’t stop there, however, as the proposed resolution would also strike two sections of Article XIV of city code, which pertains to bars, taverns, nightclubs and other establishments.

Under Sect. 14-300 and Sect. 14-301, the city only issues renewal licenses for drinking establishments, forbidding the city clerk from issuing new licenses to operate bars, grills, taverns, nightclubs, supper clubs, dance halls, places or public entertainment or other alcohol-serving establishments. The only licenses permitted for issuance right now are renewals of existing licenses and licenses for applicants who purchase an establishment that already has one.

According to the code, the intent of those ordinances stems from “numerous complaints…of rowdyism, vandalism, hooliganism and boisterous conduct disturbing the peace and tranquility of the city and its residents, resulting from the proliferation of drinking establishments in the city.”

The limits on alcohol licenses, city code states, is in place to curb that hooliganism problem by stopping the introduction of new alcohol sellers.