The good news keeps on rolling in for New York City residents. First, it was announced that the city is finally going to get its very first Cheesecake Factory location. And now, according to the New York Times, the police will no longer arrest people for drinking on the sidewalk.
Forget the election the real win of super tuesday was NYC decriminalizing public drinking today
— Alexander (@alexpapetsas) March 2, 2016
Before you go breaking out pitchers of sangria to guzzle down while roaming the streets of New York, be aware that it still isn’t completely legal to drink on the sidewalk. Lawmakers have chilled out and will not arrest you for boozing in public, but the police can still issue you a summons, which often comes with a fine. So for the time being, you still may want to stick with drinking beers that come in soda can-like containers to avoid having to fork over your hard-earned dollars to The Man. In other news, SantaCon will probably be an extra-hot mess this year.
You can’t get arrested for peeing in public or public drinking in NYC. Unless it’s a Big Gulp.
— Populo Iratus (@cmahar3) March 2, 2016
At the end of the day, the move is not about letting people drinks their flasks on the streets in peace, but about lightening the load on “Manhattan’s overburdened Criminal Court,” writes Grub Street. All in all, not arresting people for minor offenses like drinking in public and putting their feet up on a subway seat will reduce the court’s case load by about 10,000. That’s something worth raising a glass to, indoors or on the sidewalk.
[via NYT, Grub Street]