New Law May Finally Put An End to Prohibition in All of New York State

The 21st Amendment may have brought the end of Prohibition in December 1933, though there are still a number of communities across the country that have either partially or fully banned alcohol sales.

While places like New York City generally ignored Prohibition laws even in the 1920s, a post-Prohibition law was passed in 1934 that allowed towns and cities to opt to remain dry. As of 2024, there are seven communities left in New York state that have enacted complete booze bans, according to the New York State Liquor Authority.

See Also: How Many Towns in New York State Do Not Sell Alcohol?

That may soon change, however.

New Bill Would Force All Towns and Villages in New York to Allow Alcohol 

NBC reports that New York Senator James Skoufis, out of Cornwall, has sponsored a bill would force remaining alcohol bans to be lifted across the state.

The new bill has already advanced out of a committee as of last week, as Senator Skoufis' stated "This ain’t the Prohibition era any longer. We live in New York in 2024, and this thing is kind of silly".

The bill argues that lifting restrictions would spur business growth in many of these small communities across the state.  As of 2024, the communities of Berkshire, Caneadea, Clymer, Lapeer, Orwell, Fremont, and Jasper are still completely dry.

According to some local officials, many residents in dry communities travel elsewhere to purchase their booze. Keeping the residents in town would also keep their money there, says the proposed bill.

Senator Skoufis represents the 39th Senate District, which includes parts of Orange, Rockland and Ulster counties. He has previously pushed to end other "antiquated" practices, such as Daylight Savings. 

Other areas, such as the Washington County town of Argyle voted as recently as 2019 to repeal alcohol bans that stretched all the way back to 1933. However, according to the New York State Liquor Authority's database, there are still a number of other communities in New York state that have some partial bans on alcohol.

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