§ 64-B — License to sell liquor on premises commonly known as a bottle club

§ 64-b. License to sell liquor on premises commonly known as a bottle\nclub. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership or corporation\noperating a place for profit or pecuniary gain, with a capacity for the\nassemblage of twenty or more persons to permit a person or persons to\ncome to the place of assembly for the purpose of consuming alcoholic\nbeverages on said premises, which alcoholic beverages are either\nprovided by the operator of the place of assembly, his agents, servants\nor employees, or are brought onto said premises by the person or persons\nassembling at such place, unless an appropriate license has first been\nobtained from the state liquor authority by the operator of said place\nof assembly. Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the\ndefinition of place of assembly in this chapter or any other law.\nNothing contained herein shall prohibit or restrict the leasing or use\nof such place of assemblage as defined herein by any organization or\nclub enumerated in subdivision seven hereof.\n 2. Upon or after the effective date hereof any person may make an\napplication to the appropriate board for a special license to operate a\nbottle club.\n 3. Such application shall be in such form and shall contain such\ninformation as shall be required by the rules of the liquor authority\nand shall be accompanied by a check or draft in the amount required by\nthis article for such license.\n 4. Section fifty-four of this chapter shall control so far as\napplicable the procedure in connection with such application.\n 5. (a) No bottle club license shall be granted for any premises which\nshall be\n (i) on the same street or avenue and within two hundred feet of a\nbuilding occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other\nplace of worship; or\n (ii) in a city, town or village having a population of twenty thousand\nor more within five hundred feet of three or more existing premises\nlicensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four,\nsixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article;\n (iii) the measurements in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph\nare to be taken in straight lines from the center of the nearest\nentrance of the premises sought to be licensed to the center of the\nnearest entrance of such school, church, synagogue or other place of\nworship or to the center of the nearest entrance of each such premises\nlicensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four,\nsixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article; except\nthat no license shall be denied to any premises at which a license under\nthis chapter has been in existence continuously from a date prior to the\ndate when a building on the same street or avenue and within two hundred\nfeet of said premises has been occupied exclusively as a school, church,\nsynagogue or other place of worship; and except that no license shall be\ndenied to any premises, which is within five hundred feet of three or\nmore existing premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section\nand sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d\nof this article, at which a license under this chapter has been in\nexistence continuously on or prior to November first, nineteen hundred\nninety-three. The liquor authority, in its discretion, may authorize the\nremoval of any such licensed premises to a different location on the\nsame street or avenue, within two hundred feet of said school, church,\nsynagogue or other place of worship, provided that such new location is\nnot within a closer distance to such school, church, synagogue or other\nplace of worship.\n (b) Within the context of this subdivision, the word "entrance" shall\nmean a door of a school, of a house of worship, or of premises licensed\nand operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four,\nsixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article or of\nthe premises sought to be licensed, regularly used to give ingress to\nstudents of the school, to the general public attending the place of\nworship, and to patrons or guests of the premises licensed and operating\npursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a,\nsixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article or of the premises\nsought to be licensed, except that where a school or house of worship or\npremises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections\nsixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this\narticle or the premises sought to be licensed is set back from a public\nthoroughfare, the walkway or stairs leading to any such door shall be\ndeemed an entrance; and the measurement shall be taken to the center of\nthe walkway or stairs at the point where it meets the building line or\npublic thoroughfare. A door which has no exterior hardware, or which is\nused solely as an emergency or fire exit, or for maintenance purposes,\nor which leads directly to a part of a building not regularly used by\nthe general public or patrons, is not deemed an "entrance".\n (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph\n(a) of this subdivision, the authority may issue a license pursuant to\nthis section for a premises which shall be within five hundred feet of\nthree or more existing premises licensed and operating pursuant to this\nsection and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or\nsixty-four-d of this article if, after consultation with the\nmunicipality or community board, it determines that granting such\nlicense would be in the public interest. Before it may issue any such\nlicense, the authority shall conduct a hearing, upon notice to the\napplicant and the municipality or community board, and shall state and\nfile in its office its reasons therefor. The hearing may be rescheduled,\nadjourned or continued, and the authority shall give notice to the\napplicant and the municipality or community board of any such\nrescheduled, adjourned or continued hearing. Before the authority issues\nany said license, the authority or one or more of the commissioners\nthereof may, in addition to the hearing required by this paragraph, also\nconduct a public meeting regarding said license, upon notice to the\napplicant and the municipality or community board. The public meeting\nmay be rescheduled, adjourned or continued, and the authority shall give\nnotice to the applicant and the municipality or community board of any\nsuch rescheduled, adjourned or continued public meeting. Notice to the\nmunicipality or community board shall mean written notice mailed by the\nauthority to such municipality or community board at least fifteen days\nin advance of any hearing scheduled pursuant to this paragraph. Upon the\nrequest of the authority, any municipality or community board may waive\nthe fifteen day notice requirement. No premises having been granted a\nlicense pursuant to this section shall be denied a renewal of such\nlicense upon the grounds that such premises are within five hundred feet\nof a building or buildings wherein three or more premises are licensed\nand operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four,\nsixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article.\n (d) Within the context of this subdivision, a building occupied as a\nplace of worship does not cease to be "exclusively" occupied as a place\nof worship by incidental uses that are not of a nature to detract from\nthe predominant character of the building as a place of worship, such\nuses which include, but which are not limited to: the conduct of legally\nauthorized games of bingo or other games of chance held as a means of\nraising funds for the not-for-profit religious organization which\nconducts services at the place of worship or for other not-for-profit\norganizations or groups; use of the building for fund-raising\nperformances by or benefitting the not-for-profit religious organization\nwhich conducts services at the place of worship or other not-for-profit\norganizations or groups; the use of the building by other religious\norganizations or groups for religious services or other purposes; the\nconduct of social activities by or for the benefit of the congregants;\nthe use of the building for meetings held by organizations or groups\nproviding bereavement counseling to persons having suffered the loss of\na loved one, or providing advice or support for conditions or diseases\nincluding, but not limited to, alcoholism, drug addiction, cancer,\ncerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, or Alzheimer's disease; the use of\nthe building for blood drives, health screenings, health information\nmeetings, yoga classes, exercise classes or other activities intended to\npromote the health of the congregants or other persons; and use of the\nbuilding by non-congregant members of the community for private social\nfunctions. The building occupied as a place of worship does not cease to\nbe "exclusively" occupied as a place of worship where the not-for-profit\nreligious organization occupying the place of worship accepts the\npayment of funds to defray costs related to another party's use of the\nbuilding.\n 6. The liquor authority may make such rules as it deems necessary to\ncarry out the provisions of this section.\n 7. This section shall not apply to any non-profit religious,\ncharitable, or fraternal organization nor to a club as defined in\nsection three, subdivision nine of this chapter, nor to a duly\nrecognized political club, except that it shall be unlawful for any of\nthe above to permit consumption of alcoholic beverages during the hours\nprohibited by or pursuant to section one hundred six of the alcoholic\nbeverage control law.\n