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First They Came For The Pub Crawls...
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 18, 2013
Modified Feb 18, 2013
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Amanda Spurlock / Gothamist
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 18, 2013
Modified Feb 18, 2013
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It has been a few months since Santacon—and St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner—so clearly it is about time for another freak out about pub crawls! Yep, though previous attempts to stop the scourge of drinkers dribbling from pub to pub in our pristine urban metropolis have failed, that old threat of prohibition is back again.
The latest attack on pub crawls comes from Democratic Assemblyman Micah Kellner who, the Post reports, "has introduced a bill that would pull the plug on pub crawls by yanking the liquor licenses of bars that promote the boozy block-by-block odysseys."
"It creates mayhem," Kellner explained of his bill. "We’re not trying to legislate common sense. What we can legislate is licensed liquor establishments promoting and enabling dangerous behavior." Basically Kellner is targeting bars that sponsor, or take part in, organized pub crawls. So your birthday multi-borough blowouts would be safe. FOR NOW.
But seriously, we wouldn't bet on Kellner's plan going too far. Previous attempts to prohibit the practice have gone nowhere—the State Liquor Authority says they can't enforce those kinds of bans—but you never know what kind of shenanigans our next mayor may want to pull. So forewarned is forearmed: Your St. Pat's pub crawl this year could be your last.
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Albany
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