Last night Community Boards 2 and 6 in Brooklyn held a joint meeting to discuss the liquor license for the Barclays Center over the Atlantic Yards. And, as with everything regarding the future home of the Nets, it was a long slog. The meeting took two-and-a-half hours and ended with little resolution—despite the fact that nobody seriously thinks the State Liquor Authority is going to reject the application. more ›

It isn't just the LES that is feeling getting pressure from the law to stop serving booze to minors—it is happening in the Hamptons, too. Just as the NYPD is cracking down on underage drinking in town, police in the Hamptons fired a summer salvo police last weekend arrested six bartenders in three locations for serving booze to minors. more ›

With Four Loko's danger past us, the NYPD is back to worrying about Nutcrackers. Last year the 34th Precinct in upper Manhattan declared war on the guys who peddle Nutcracker—a sweet homemade cocktail illegally sold to legal and underage drinkers—and this year they are planning on redoubling their efforts. "We want to get this off the street, especially when they are selling this garbage to little kids," Captain Jose Navarro of the 34th Precinct told DNAinfo. more ›

It was bad enough when Pennsylvania got its first self-serve wine kiosks last year, with thousands of bottles available at the click of a button in grocery stores. But now, they've gone too far: the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is on the verge of approving a pilot program to sell hard liquor out of those wine vending kiosks. Why is the sixth borough at the cutting edge of alco-vending machine technology??? more ›

This recession is getting more ridiculous than we thought. Wooed by the trends of financial crises past, the nation's youths are looking to the 20s and 30s for lifestyle inspiration. And as if the raccoon hats and speakeasies weren't enough, the latest trend brings speakeasies right into the convenience of your own kitchen. According to BBC News, the kids are making moonshine. more ›

Authorities busted Bronx bodegas for selling "nutcracker"—a sweet cocktail illegally sold to underage drinkers at delis, convenience stores and barbershops across the city. Cops arrested two bodega employees and the state suspended the beer licenses at two Mott Haven delis after an under-aged, undercover auxiliary cop was able to purchase the homemade drinks. "This is so outrageous, we are going to seek revocation," said State Liquor Authority Deputy Chief Executive Officer Michael Jones. more ›

A deputy commissioner for the Health Department said yesterday that the DOH is considering a tax increase on alcohol, which could increase the price of a bottle of beer as much as ten cents. After hearing about the possibility, the Daily News rushed to interview barflies on Eighth Avenue, where the news was received calmly and rationally. "They tried that before, it is called temperance," declared Marc Jacobs (ha), on his way into the Molly Wee Pub. Another patron at The Blarney Stone, Phil Carroll, sarcastically asked, "That worked with cigarettes, right?" Well, Phil, it probably did: 300,000 fewer adult New Yorkers smoke than in 2002, which may have a little something to do with price hikes and indoor smoking bans. more ›

Remember "nutcracker" — the bootleg concoction of booze and fruit juice sold in barbershops and bodegas uptown? Did you know you can make $20,000 a year selling it? A man who has mixed and distributed the sugary street cocktail for the past six years sat down with the Manhattan Times and described the trade. more ›

Records obtained by the NY Post confirm that many NYC nightclubs, bars, and restaurants have been doing what many of us long suspected: refilling top-shelf liquor bottles with cheaper alcohol and watering down drinks. It's unclear exactly which establishments have been committing the crime against sobriety, but Marquee paid a $100,000 settlement to the SLA in October; violations included allowing a "disorderly" climate that led to fights, unregistered security guards and "contaminated" bottles. SLA spokesman Michael Smith says, "We may find contaminated liquor or contaminated products, which may include refilling of liquor bottles with inferior liquor or fruit flies contaminating the bottle." According to Marquee, fruit flies were the problem, not well liquor in top-shelf bottles. Meanwhile, BLVD/Crash Mansion paid a total of $16,500 in fines to the SLA last year, but the club's owner says, "We paid $8,000 for a fruit fly" in a bottle of Jack Daniels. And in April, an anonymous bartender griped to the Feedbag about the DOH: "The obsession with fruit flies is a bit absurd. In the warm weather months they’re here and places do everything they can, but fruit flies will always be around." more ›

With New York's obscene real estate market starting to look ever so slightly less obscene, real estate brokers are panicking like jocks on prom night stuck with dates who won't neck. The crack trend spotters at the Times report that brokers are plying their clients with hard liquor and expensive wine so as to wear down their resistance. "Alcohol brings everyone together," declared broker Kipton Davis while showing a group of bankers and traders around a $9.9 million penthouse—as they knocked back Chardonnay, Chinon, and Lagavulin ($77/bottle) whiskey. But no matter how much these brokers promise to respect their clients in the morning, prudes like 28-year-old banker Jeff Nelson are still throwing up the Heisman. Sure, he's happy to take the free drinks, but let's face it: "The way prices are going, there’s no way to know where these prices will be next year." That's right, Nelson; a wealthy young catch like yourself ought to make 'em beg for it. more ›

Society swells attending glamorous events at Cipriani Dolci may soon have to develop a taste for Shirley Temples. The State Liquor Authority [SLA] is threatening to revoke the liquor licenses at all the swank restaurants and catering halls run by the Cipriani family – including the Rainbow Room and Socialista. The SLA says operators Giuseppe Cipriani and his father, Arrigo Cipriani, have illegally let their licenses be used by unauthorized relatives and companies. more ›

New York's called the city that never sleeps, but to many it’s also the city that never leaves its apartment. For the Netflix-and-sweatpants set, there are an increasing number of ways to get all the essentials with just a phone call or a few clicks of the mouse, provided you have a desirable zip code. The best known late night delivery service is Anytime, which provides East Village and Williamsburg shut-ins with the beer and cigarettes they need to make it through that Friday night Wii bowling marathon. But Anytime may be gone in no time, and their East Village phone number has been disconnected. more ›