ZACH RICHTER:GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL SIGNED LEGISLATION OVER THE WEEKEND ALLOWING LIQUOR STORES TO EXPAND THEIR HOURS ON SUNDAYS… AN EFFORT SHE SAYS IS SUPPOSED TO BENEFIT BUYERS AND SELLERS. NCC’S MADDIE STELK JOINS US NOW LIVE OUTSIDE PIRAINO LIQUORS WITH MORE. HEY MADDIE.
MADDIE STELK: HEY ZACH THAT’S RIGHT. I’M ACTUALLY OUTSIDE OF ORANGE HILL LIQUOR STORE BUT JUST LIKE PIRAINOS, THESE LIQUOR STORES CAN OPERATE ON SUNDAYS NOW FROM 10 A-M TO 10 P-M. GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL SAYS THIS IS AN EFFORT TO MODERNIZE NEW YORK STATE’S LIQUOR LAWS AND WHILE MANY NEW YORKERS ARE HAPPY ABOUT IT, IT’S BUSINESS OWNERS WHO HAVE CONCERNS.
MADDIE STELK: YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST SUNDAY THAT PIRAINO’S LIQUOR STORE COULD OPEN TWO HOURS EARLIER… PER A NEW STATE LAW, THAT GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL SAYS WILL HELP SMALL BUSINESSES… BUT STORE OWNER ANTHONY PIRAINO DISAGREES… AND SAYS HE WON’T BE CHANGING HIS HOURS.
ANTHONY PIRAINO:”I think it’s a bunch of bull” // “How many people go out on Sunday nights until 10 oclock? Nobody.”)
MADDIE STELK:BUT SOME SYRACUSE RESIDENTS SAY THEY’LL BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF STORES WHO CHOOSE TO EXTEND THEIR HOURS.
JOHN HOLBROOK:”I think it’s a good law… down south they have twenty four seven.”)
MADDIE STELK: AND OTHER ALCOHOL-RELATED BILLS STILL SIT ON THE GOVERNORS DESK. ONE OF THEM BEING TO ALLOW WINE TO BE SOLD IN GROCERY STORES. A LAW THAT MANY NEW YORKERS ARE PUSHING FOR.
NAJUA GASSANT: “I would wanna see it. Um… I buy wine.”
MADDIE STELK: BUT FOR PIRAINO, WHO HAS OWNED HIS SMALL BUSINESS FOR 47 YEARS, SAYS THE PENDING LAWS WILL ONLY HURT HIM…
ANTHONU PIRAINO: “It’s all about big business… it’s all big business, you know. They don’t want the small guy anymore.”
MADDIE STELK: HURT HIM, AND EVENTUALLY… THE REST OF THE ECONOMY…
ANTHONY PIRAINO: “You’re gonna see Wegmans brand… you’re gonna see Tops brand… and eventually its gonna hurt all the industry.”
MADDIE STELK: NOW PIRAINO SAYS YOU WONT ONLY MIGHT NOT IN THE FUTURE ONLY SEE YOUR FAVORITE BRAND OF WINE YOU KNOW AT WEGMANS OR ANYTHING, BUT ALSO THAT IT COULD AFFECT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEY SAY THAT THE WAY TO HELP THIS IS TO NOT PASS THE LEGISLATION TO FIND WINE IN SUPERMARKETS. REPORTING LIVE IN SYRACUSE I’M MADDIE STELK, NCC NEWS.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of legislation on Saturday aimed at modernizing New York’s alcoholic beverage laws. Among the changes, liquor and wine stores can now expand their hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
The new law was made to expand options for consumers and support small businesses, Hochul said in a written statement. But one local liquor store won’t be changing its Sunday hours.
“Anybody that does is stupid,” said Anthony Piraino, owner of Piraino’s Liquor. “Because it’s a waste of time. Nobody goes out at 10 o’clock on Sunday. Everybody is home and ready to go to work the next day.”
Other alcohol-related changes are still on the table, including a popular one: wine in grocery stores, a concept that many New Yorkers are pushing for.
“I think it’s a good law,” Syracuse resident John Holbrook said. “So much of the East Coast has it, so why not here?”
Wine in grocery stores, however, isn’t something that liquor and wine stores want to see, with concerns that it would drive away customers from their small businesses.
“It’s all about big business,” Piraino said. “They don’t want the small guy anymore.”
As for the legislation that passed, other changes allow for the retail sale of beer on Sundays, and extends the length a Brewer’s license is valid from one to three years.
