64-b. License to sell liquor on premises commonly known as a bottle club. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership or corporation operating a place for profit or pecuniary gain, with a capacity for the assemblage of twenty or more persons to permit a person or persons to come to the place of assembly for the purpose of consuming alcoholic beverages on said premises, which alcoholic beverages are either provided by the operator of the place of assembly, his agents, servants or employees, or are brought onto said premises by the person or persons assembling at such place, unless an appropriate license has first been obtained from the state liquor authority by the operator of said place of assembly. Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the definition of place of assembly in this chapter or any other law. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit or restrict the leasing or use of such place of assemblage as defined herein by any organization or club enumerated in subdivision seven hereof.
2. Upon or after the effective date hereof any person may make an application to the appropriate board for a special license to operate a bottle club.
3. Such application shall be in such form and shall contain such information as shall be required by the rules of the liquor authority and shall be accompanied by a check or draft in the amount required by this article for such license.
4. Section fifty-four of this chapter shall control so far as applicable the procedure in connection with such application.
5. (a) No bottle club license shall be granted for any premises which shall be
(i) on the same street or avenue and within two hundred feet of a building occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship; or
(ii) in a city, town or village having a population of twenty thousand or more within five hundred feet of three or more existing premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article;
(iii) the measurements in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph are to be taken in straight lines from the center of the nearest entrance of the premises sought to be licensed to the center of the nearest entrance of such school, church, synagogue or other place of worship or to the center of the nearest entrance of each such premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article; except that no license shall be denied to any premises at which a license under this chapter has been in existence continuously from a date prior to the date when a building on the same street or avenue and within two hundred feet of said premises has been occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship; and except that no license shall be denied to any premises, which is within five hundred feet of three or more existing premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article, at which a license under this chapter has been in existence continuously on or prior to November first, nineteen hundred ninety-three. The liquor authority, in its discretion, may authorize the removal of any such licensed premises to a different location on the same street or avenue, within two hundred feet of said school, church, synagogue or other place of worship, provided that such new location is not within a closer distance to such school, church, synagogue or other place of worship.
(b) Within the context of this subdivision, the word "entrance" shall mean a door of a school, of a house of worship, or of premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article or of the premises sought to be licensed, regularly used to give ingress to students of the school, to the general public attending the place of worship, and to patrons or guests of the premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article or of the premises sought to be licensed, except that where a school or house of worship or premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article or the premises sought to be licensed is set back from a public thoroughfare, the walkway or stairs leading to any such door shall be deemed an entrance; and the measurement shall be taken to the center of the walkway or stairs at the point where it meets the building line or public thoroughfare. A door which has no exterior hardware, or which is used solely as an emergency or fire exit, or for maintenance purposes, or which leads directly to a part of a building not regularly used by the general public or patrons, is not deemed an "entrance".
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the authority may issue a license pursuant to this section for a premises which shall be within five hundred feet of three or more existing premises licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article if, after consultation with the municipality or community board, it determines that granting such license would be in the public interest. Before it may issue any such license, the authority shall conduct a hearing, upon notice to the applicant and the municipality or community board, and shall state and file in its office its reasons therefor. The hearing may be rescheduled, adjourned or continued, and the authority shall give notice to the applicant and the municipality or community board of any such rescheduled, adjourned or continued hearing. Before the authority issues any said license, the authority or one or more of the commissioners thereof may, in addition to the hearing required by this paragraph, also conduct a public meeting regarding said license, upon notice to the applicant and the municipality or community board. The public meeting may be rescheduled, adjourned or continued, and the authority shall give notice to the applicant and the municipality or community board of any such rescheduled, adjourned or continued public meeting. Notice to the municipality or community board shall mean written notice mailed by the authority to such municipality or community board at least fifteen days in advance of any hearing scheduled pursuant to this paragraph. Upon the request of the authority, any municipality or community board may waive the fifteen day notice requirement. No premises having been granted a license pursuant to this section shall be denied a renewal of such license upon the grounds that such premises are within five hundred feet of a building or buildings wherein three or more premises are licensed and operating pursuant to this section and sections sixty-four, sixty-four-a, sixty-four-c, and/or sixty-four-d of this article.
(d) Within the context of this subdivision, a building occupied as a place of worship does not cease to be "exclusively" occupied as a place of worship by incidental uses that are not of a nature to detract from the predominant character of the building as a place of worship, such uses which include, but which are not limited to: the conduct of legally authorized games of bingo or other games of chance held as a means of raising funds for the not-for-profit religious organization which conducts services at the place of worship or for other not-for-profit organizations or groups; use of the building for fund-raising performances by or benefitting the not-for-profit religious organization which conducts services at the place of worship or other not-for-profit organizations or groups; the use of the building by other religious organizations or groups for religious services or other purposes; the conduct of social activities by or for the benefit of the congregants; the use of the building for meetings held by organizations or groups providing bereavement counseling to persons having suffered the loss of a loved one, or providing advice or support for conditions or diseases including, but not limited to, alcoholism, drug addiction, cancer, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, or Alzheimer's disease; the use of the building for blood drives, health screenings, health information meetings, yoga classes, exercise classes or other activities intended to promote the health of the congregants or other persons; and use of the building by non-congregant members of the community for private social functions. The building occupied as a place of worship does not cease to be "exclusively" occupied as a place of worship where the not-for-profit religious organization occupying the place of worship accepts the payment of funds to defray costs related to another party's use of the building.
6. The liquor authority may make such rules as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
7. This section shall not apply to any non-profit religious, charitable, or fraternal organization nor to a club as defined in section three, subdivision nine of this chapter, nor to a duly recognized political club, except that it shall be unlawful for any of the above to permit consumption of alcoholic beverages during the hours prohibited by or pursuant to section one hundred six of the alcoholic beverage control law.
Last modified: February 3, 2019