The days of not being allowed to finish your forty on the way to the bar are over. After years of killing block-party vibes everywhere, the police department and the Manhattan district attorney’s office have decided they will no longer arrest people for boozing on the sidewalk. Going forward, officers will have the choice of issuing summonses, which include the possibility of a fine, though presumably if they encounter people who are super-hammered and belligerent they’ll still arrest them. The move is ostensibly about lightening the load on Manhattan’s overburdened Criminal Court, though clearly the police were just tired of being buzzkills. Everyone is already smoking joints on the street like it’s no big deal, and New Yorkers will continue doing what they’ve always done and drink lots of beer in Central Park this summer.
[NYT]
