State to address liquor license backlog

ALBANY – The New York State Liquor Authority has formed a committee to address the processing backlog for new liquor licenses and permits.  In addition to new technology, the committee, comprised of SLA employees will be addressing license requests in a bulk format to process the requests more quickly.

Attorney Lorenzo Angelino represents a substantial number of liquor license holders in the Hudson Valley and assists many others who are seeking to get a license from the SLA.  He’s hopeful that the committee will alleviate some of the financial stress caused by the backlog.  “What used to be a three-month process has stretched to a year or more for some of my clients,” he told Mid-Hudson News.  He said the backlog is expensive for people seeking a license.  My clients used to have temporary permits for a month or two before approval from the SLA for a permanent license.”  Now, Angelino said, his clients are paying for temporary permits for upward of nine months.

“It’s far worse for applicants seeking to open a liquor store and they are unable to open with a temporary license yet in most cases, they are paying rent on an empty storefront for months without any indication of whether they will be approved for the license – and they have to have the storefront before applying for the license.”

The Poughkeepsie-based attorney expressed his frustration and optimism.  “The change in the SLA’s computer system in October has created more delays than progress.  As of now, the Federal TTB application, needed for brewers and distillers, has become faster than the process in New York.  Hopefully, the new committee will bring New York up to speed.”

The committee, according to the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association, will look at a large group of applications that fall within one of the following categories:

• New on-premises license applications submitted by entities or principals who are already licensed by the…