More Tickets for Stoop Drinkers
Despite, or maybe because of, the publicity generated by our post a couple of weeks ago and the subsequent NY Times article, tickets for drinking on stoops continue. A tipster sent us this note: “Tuesday night, Sept. 9th, myself and three friends were ticketed $45 each for drinking three beers (one of us was not…
Despite, or maybe because of, the publicity generated by our post a couple of weeks ago and the subsequent NY Times article, tickets for drinking on stoops continue. A tipster sent us this note: “Tuesday night, Sept. 9th, myself and three friends were ticketed $45 each for drinking three beers (one of us was not actually drinking, and there were only three beers open) citing that we were visible from the street when the police drove by. Just wondering how much this has been happening lately. We all plan to contest the ruling, but wondering how much we would spend on court costs. The house on Quincy between Bedford and Nostrand [in the photo above] has a three to four foot overhang from the second floor deck, which we were under, definitely not a public place.” According to the Times piece, “The city’s open-container law prohibits anyone from drinking an alcoholic beverage, or possessing and intending to drink from an open container containing an alcoholic beverage, ‘in any public place.’ The law defines a public place as one ‘to which the public or a substantial group of persons has access, including, but not limited to,’ a sidewalk, street or park.” Access seems to be the gray word, here. A stoop is visible to the public, but accessible? What do you think? Should we fight for our right to party?
You’d think somebody with a username like Lionball’s would
just go downstair’s open up a can o whoop ass! LOL!!
Take it easy,Just kidding.
Actually, I agree with Lionballs, I wish i could find out
how long the people that are for drinking on their stoop’s
have lived in Brooklyn.
Did you live here twenty year’s ago or maybe even a little less in some area’s. When every body in every building on
all the avenue’s in Park Slope was out drinking in front of their house/building/apartment?
How would you like your wives/children to have to walk past that coming off the train everyday? To the woman whose husband should be entitled to a cold one Because it was his property and he was wearing a suit. What about the twenty immigrant construction worker’s that rent the space over the deli around the corner, Can they have a couple of Cerveza’s on the Fire escape after work? What about multi family dwelling’s?
when does it end? why should the police have to make these distinction’s?
About 3 years ago my neighbor had a can of beer in a brown bag walking back to his home from talking to the neighbor immediately next door to his home. Some officers in a marked patrol car were driving down the block, came to a halt,jumped out and walked towards him. I watched as he continued to go into his gate and the officers told him to halt. I watched him pull out his id,then he went inside and got his uniform, yes uniform(army) and brought it out. He then said something to an officer who shook his hand as they laughed and headed back to their car. My neighbor later told me they were going to ticket him for having his can of beer, even though it was in a brown bag but when he told them he was having his last beer before leaving for Iraq they let it slide. He said he went for his uniform to prove to them he wasnt lying and then they started talking about the fact that one officer was in the reserves, etc. They thanked him for his service, wished him well and took off. I guess it is to the discretion of the officer as to whether he is going to uphold this law or not.
Sorry, lbs, bad blog etiquette on my part, was referring to my previous exchange with lurker where he was taking me to task on my “breaking laws” on the level of jaywalking.
If the cops are going to ticket people sitting on their own stoop because it’s a “public” place, then when that stoop needs to be repaired, is the city going to pay for it?
Also, when I went to the Met Opera in Prospect Park over the summer, I called the Parks Dept and asked if it was okay to bring wine. The person on the phone said there is no drinking allowed in any city parks, ever. Then when Marty Markowitz got up to speak before the show started, he made a joke about enjoying sipping something “red or white” during the show. Alcoholic beverages were all over the place that night. Why is that OK and stoop sipping isn’t? Makes no sense, very stupid.
Is that a good thing?
no idea who he is.
“Its like getting a speed ticket for going 1 mph over the limit… totally BS, but a rule that does exist for the greater good.”
Lionballs, are you related to the lurker?
I was the one who sent the tip to Brownstoner. I appreciate the advice as to whether or not to challenge the ticket. All around the hood there’s countless examples of drinkers going unticketed, I just wonder what the standard, if any, cops are going by. I had the same question about being seen drinking in your window, and we only showed our id’s the them to prove our legal drinking age. The hardest part was the cops telling us as their writing the tickets that they “Don’t really mean anything”
Well….
such tomfoolery in times of such dire straits
with one boob or two?