NY Alcoh Bev Ctrl L § 106-B (2021)
2021 New York Laws ABC - Alcoholic Beverage Control Article 8 - General Provisions 106-B - Provisions for Governing Sports Facilities Operators and Retail Licenses to Sell at Certain Sporting Events for Consumption on Premises.

* § 106-b. Provisions  for  governing  sports facilities operators and retail licenses to sell at certain sporting events  for  consumption  on premises.   1.  (a)  Every  person  who  operates  a  facility  for  the performance of a sporting event during  which  alcoholic  beverages  are sold  or  otherwise  furnished  for  consumption  on such premises shall establish  nonalcoholic  seating  accommodations,  separate  from  other seating   accommodations   within   such  premises,  wherein  the  sale, possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages shall not be permitted.  (b) Nonalcoholic seating accommodations shall constitute not less than six percentum of  all  permanent  seating  accommodations  for  a  given sporting event, unless otherwise provided for by this section, and shall at  such  level  be equally distributed among each separately designated ticket price area.   2. (a) Every person who operates a facility for the performance  of  a sporting  event  during  which alcoholic beverages are sold or otherwise furnished for consumption on such premises  shall  establish  nonvending seating  accommodations,  separate  from  other  seating  accommodations within such premises, wherein the sale or other furnishing of  alcoholic beverages  shall  not  be  permitted,  but where the consumption of such alcoholic beverages shall not be prohibited.  (b) Nonvending seating accommodations shall constitute not  less  than fifteen  percentum  of all permanent seating accommodations, in addition to those seating accommodations segregated pursuant to  subdivision  one of  this section, and shall be equally distributed among each separately designated ticket price area.   3. (a) Immediately upon the  effective  date  of  this  section,  each facility  operator  shall  designate  not less than ten percentum of all non-season ticket seating as either nonalcohol seating accommodations or nonvending seating accommodations or both, and  that  such  designations shall  thereafter  remain  in effect up to and until the commencement of designations  pursuant  to  paragraph  (b)  of  this   subdivision,   or designations pursuant to subdivision four of this section.  (b)   The   establishment   of   seating  accommodations  pursuant  to subdivisions one and two of this  section  may  be  implemented  over  a period  of three years from the effective date of this section, and in a combination  of  nonalcoholic  seating  accommodations  and   nonvending seating  accommodations,  that is consistent with the provisions of this section, provided that  (i) designations of not less  than  one-third  of  the  total  seating accommodations  required  pursuant  to  subdivisions one and two of this section are made within one year of the effective date of this  section; however,  such  designation  up  to  the  first  one-third  of the total nonalcohol seating accommodation may be designated in any  ticket  price area, and  (ii)  designations  of  an  additional  one-third of the total seating accommodations required pursuant to subdivisions one  and  two  of  this section are made by January first, nineteen hundred ninety-one; however, such  designation  up  to  the  second one-third of the total nonalcohol seating accommodation may be designated in any ticket price area, and  (iii)  designations  of  a  final  one-third  of  the  total   seating accommodations  required  pursuant  to  subdivisions one and two of this section are made by January first, nineteen hundred ninety-two.  (c) A facility operator may petition the state liquor authority for an exemption from  the  provisions  of  subparagraphs  (ii)  and  (iii)  of paragraph  (b)  hereof as they relate to nonalcohol seating if it can be shown that the demand for such seating does not exceed the  availability under  subparagraph  (i)  of  paragraph  (b)  hereof.  The  state liquor authority, in evaluating such  petition,  shall  consider,  among  other  things, the availability of such seating, the promotion of such seating, the  method  of merchandising tickets for such seating, and the location of such seating sections within the overall seating available in a given facility.  In  addition,  the  state liquor authority shall consider any voluntarily instituted alcohol reduction plan which includes, but is not necessarily  limited  to,  the  provision  of  low  alcohol  beer,   the limitation  on  the  number  of  servings  of  alcoholic  beverages,  or limitations on the size of such servings.  (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting facility operators from relocating designated nonvending  or  nonalcohol  seating accommodations  in  each year, provided that each facility maintains the levels of nonalcohol and nonvending seating accommodations provided  for in this section.   4.  Notwithstanding  any  provision of this section to the contrary, a facility operator shall be exempt from the  provisions  of  subdivisions one,  two  and  three  hereof, upon the filing of certification with the state liquor authority that  said  operator  prohibits  the  vending  of alcoholic   beverages  in  all  seating  areas  of  such  facility,  and furthermore provides non-alcohol seating accommodations in not less than two percentum of the total permanent seating accommodations.   5. (a) For the purposes of preserving order  and  preventing  offenses against the laws of the state during the course of a sporting event, and when  otherwise  authorized  pursuant  to the provisions of the criminal procedure  law  and  appropriate  local  legislation,  the  trustees  or directors of any corporation acting in the capacity of facility operator and  licensed to do business in New York, may apply from time to time to the commissioner of police of the municipality within which the facility is  located  for  the  appointment  of  special  patrolmen,  who,   when appointed,  shall  be  peace  officers  with the same powers within such facility as are set forth in section 2.20 of the criminal procedure law, whose duty, when appointed,  shall  be  to  preserve  order  within  the facility  operated by the applicant corporation, to protect the property within said facility, with the authority to eject or arrest all  persons who  shall  be  improperly within the facility or who shall be guilty of disorderly conduct, or who shall neglect  or  refuse  to  pay  the  fees prescribed by said corporation; and it shall be the further duty of said special  patrolmen, when appointed, to prevent all violations of law and arrest any and all persons violating such  provisions,  and  to  process such  persons  in  accordance  with  the  criminal  procedure law.   The appointment of special patrolmen pursuant  to  this  section  shall  not supersede  in any way the authority of peace officers or police officers of the jurisdiction within which such facility is located, nor shall any patrolmen be deemed by virtue of such employment  an  employee  of  said municipality,  or  be  entitled to any of the benefits arising from such employment,  and  such  special  patrolmen  may  be  terminated  by  the commissioner at any time, without assigning cause therefore.  (b)  The  special  patrolmen  appointed  and  approved pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision shall be the sole responsibility  of  the applying  corporate  entity,  and such entity shall indemnify and defend the municipality for any and all liability  arising  from  the  acts  or omissions  of  such  officers.    In consideration of their appointment, special patrolmen shall sign  an  agreement  in  writing  releasing  and waiving  all  claim  whatsoever  against  the  police  department or the municipality for pay, salary or compensation for their services, or  for any other expenses connected thereto.   6. Each facility operator shall file with the state liquor authority a plan  of  compliance  with the provisions of this section, including but not limited to  a  facility  diagram  or  such  other  seating  program,  indicating  ticket price areas designated as nonalcoholic and nonvending seating accommodations. This plan shall also include  a  description  of all  policies  and  procedures  instituted  by  the facility operator in relation to the sale, consumption or limitation of alcoholic beverages.   7. (a) For the purposes of this section, "facility for the performance of  a  sporting  event"  shall  include any stadium, arena, ballpark, or other  indoor  or  outdoor  athletic  field  complex  in  use  during  a professional  sporting event, and located within a standard metropolitan statistical area having a population of one million or more  as  of  the most  current  decennial  census  as  conducted  by  the  United  States Department of Commerce,  but  shall  not  include  facilities  owned  or operated by an educational institution.  (b)  For  the  purposes  of  this  section,  "facility operator" shall include the primary tenant of a facility defined  in  paragraph  (a)  of this  subdivision.  In those situations where the entity responsible for operation and management of said facility  is  other  than  the  primary tenant,  the  person  or  persons  so  responsible  shall constitute the "facility operator." If no facility operator pursuant  to  this  section can  be  ascertained,  then the facility owner shall also constitute the facility operator. In  any  event,  the  designation  of  such  facility operator  shall be included in all plans of compliance filed pursuant to subdivision six of this section.   8. The state liquor authority shall promulgate rules  and  regulations no  later than January first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, that provide for notification of facility operators of such facilities and sellers of alcoholic beverages at such facilities of the provisions of this section and that provide for the conspicuous posting at such facilities  notices informing  the  public of the provisions of this section, indicating the nonalcohol and nonvending seating accommodations designated pursuant  to this  section,  and  the  penalty  for violating this section, and shall promulgate such other  rules  and  regulations  in  furtherance  of  the provisions of this section.   9.  The  state  liquor  authority  shall  report  to  the governor and legislature no later than February first, nineteen hundred  ninety-three on  the  compliance  with  the  provisions  of this section, any and all administrative or enforcement actions taken under the  authority  vested in  it  by  the  provisions of this section and the effectiveness of the provisions of this section in reducing the occurrence of alcohol-related incidents.   10. (a) Violation by a facility operator of  the  provisions  of  this section  or  of  the  rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this section is a misdemeanor.  (b) Violation of any stadium plan enacted pursuant to this section  or the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder is a violation.   11.  Severability. If any provision of this section shall be held void or unconstitutional, all other provisions and all  other  sanctions  not expressly  held  to  be  void or unconstitutional shall continue in full force and effect.   12. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, a facility operator may reduce the total number of seats  segregated  as non-alcohol seating as necessary to assure local television broadcast of a  particular  sporting  event  when  ninety-nine  percent  of all other seating is unavailable, so long as the facility operator, prior  to  the commencement  of  the  sporting  season,  files  with  the  state liquor authority for a plan  of  reduction  in  the  consumption  of  alcoholic beverages that includes:  (i)  restrictions  in  those  areas  that  were  to  be  segregated as non-alcohol seating that exceed  the  limitations  on  non-vending,  but which do not prohibit the consumption of alcohol in toto;  (ii)  the  development of additional security personnel in those areas that were to be segregated as non-alcohol seating, or such  other  areas in which persons requesting non-alcohol seating are located; and  (iii)  a  plan  of  marketing,  promotion, method of merchandising and location of non-alcoholic seating, and a description of the seats to  be declassified as non-alcohol seats.  (b)  The  provisions  of  this  subdivision  shall apply only in those instances where a facility is operated with two percent of  its  seating segregated  as  non-alcohol seating in accordance with the provisions of this section.  (c) In the event that a facility operator invokes  the  provisions  of this  subdivision for its intended purposes, the facility operator shall notify the state  liquor  authority  at  least  three  days  before  the particular  sporting  event  of the utilization of this subdivision, the time period in which the provisions of  this  subdivision  shall  be  in effect, and certify that such utilization is based on the unavailability of seating in all remaining sections of the facility.   * NB Expired Effective July 1, 1993