[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Fulton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-23-1944; amended in its entirety 4-29-1986 (Ch. 37, Art. I, of the 1991 Code)]
The Common Council of the City of Fulton, the legislative body of said City, makes the following findings:
A. 
Consumption of alcoholic beverages in public streets and public places, except under certain, licensed circumstances, is detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City of Fulton.
B. 
Consumption of alcoholic beverages in public streets and public places causes unsightly and unsanitary conditions, creates a nuisance and interferes with the peace and good order of said City.
C. 
Based upon a review of the complaints on file with the Fulton Police Department and on discussions with the Chief of Police of the City of Fulton, possession of alcoholic beverages with the intent to consume the same and the actual consumption of alcoholic beverages on public streets and in public places is a serious, substantial and significant cause of persons (especially persons who are under the legal age for purchasing alcohol) becoming unruly, disruptive, disorderly, uncontrollable, obnoxious, offensive and of a general character detrimental to the health, welfare and peaceful orderliness of the community.
D. 
This Common Council finds that this article is necessary and proper in order to promote the health, welfare and safety of the general public and that the restrictions on conduct created by this article are not unduly harsh or restrictive and are necessary and proper pursuant to the police power of the City of Fulton.
E. 
There is a significant relationship between the possession of an open, unsealed container containing an alcoholic beverage and the actual consumption of said alcoholic beverage on the public streets and in public places and the general health, welfare and safety of the general public.
It has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Common Council of the City of Fulton that the possession of open, unsealed containers of alcohol and the actual consumption of alcohol on public streets and in public places has been proven to be a significant and substantial cause of the congregation of persons who, in turn, cause and promote unruly, disruptive, uncontrollable, obnoxious and generally offensive behavior. Therefore, the Common Council of the City of Fulton considers it to be in the best interest of the residents of the City of Fulton to enact this article.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
Any beer, wine, liquor and any other alcoholic beverage, as more specifically defined by the New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
CONTAINER
Any bottle, can, glass or other receptacle suitable or used to hold any liquid.
OPEN
Unsealed, accessible to or for direct consumption, including but not limited to pop-top cans, uncorked bottles or liquor bottles with broken seals.
PARKS
Areas designated by the City of Fulton and owned, operated and/or controlled by said City, whether within or without said City, which have been set aside by said City for recreational purposes of any kind by the inhabitants of said City.
PUBLIC LANDS
Any highway, street, park, sidewalk, cemetery, playground, parking area, school ground, public beach, skating rink and any other public lands or property owned, operated or controlled by the City of Fulton, whether located within or without said City of Fulton, or any other municipality or public agency, or other public place as defined by § 240.00 of the Penal Law of the State of New York.
A. 
No persons possessing open containers of alcoholic beverages with the intent to consume the same shall be permitted at any time in or on any bathing beaches, swimming pools, skating rinks, the Municipal Building or the War Memorial Building[1] in the City of Fulton. The provisions of this article shall apply only to the following areas hereinafter delineated:
(1) 
Skating rinks: the actual skating surface itself and the adjacent walkaround and spectator areas.
(2) 
War Memorial Building: the area itself upon which sports are played or engaged in, and the adjacent spectator seats and the adjacent walkaround area.
(3) 
Swimming pools: the fenced-in areas, including the pool itself and adjacent areas inside said fence.
[1]
Editor's Note: A resolution adopted 11-3-2004 provided that "The War Memorial Building is subject to the permit process as specified in § 210-5, provided that the applicant for such a permit obtains the appropriate permits and insurance as specified in Chapter 210 and by previous resolution of the Common Council relating to liability insurance."
B. 
Persons possessing open containers of alcoholic beverages with the intent to consume the same or actual consumption of alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited in the following areas:
(1) 
The Great Bear Farm site situated on County Route 57 in the Town of Volney, County of Oswego, New York.
C. 
Parks. Possession of open alcoholic containers with the intent to consume the same and the actual consumption of alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited in all parks.
[Amended 3-5-1991; 6-16-1992[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This legislation also repealed original Subsection D, concerning alcoholic beverages in Foster Park and Van Buren Park, as amended, and original Subsection J, Recreation Park, added 3-5-1991.
D. 
Any person who drinks or otherwise consumes alcoholic beverages or has in his or her possession or carries or transports any open bottle or open container containing alcoholic beverages with the intent to consume the same, while such person is in or upon any public sidewalk, street, highway, parking lot or other such public lands, shall be guilty of a violation of this article.
E. 
Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by anyone in a public place who is under the age which would entitle him or her to purchase alcoholic beverages, under the laws of the State of New York, in said City of Fulton or in other premises owned or operated by the City of Fulton shall be prohibited.
F. 
The above-prohibited conduct shall not apply to any individual or members of an organization which secures a permit to distribute or consume alcoholic beverages in accordance with the procedure hereinafter set forth.
G. 
It shall be a rebuttable presumption that any individual who has in his or her possession an unsealed container containing an alcoholic beverage, in or upon any public sidewalk, street, highway, parking lot or other such public lands, intends to consume the same upon said public lands.
H. 
It shall be an affirmative defense to the provisions of this article that possession of an open empty alcoholic beverage container is for the sole purpose of disposing of or returning containers pursuant to the provisions of the New York State Deposit Law.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: See § 27-1011 et seq. of the Environmental Conservation Law.
A. 
Permit required. If any individual or organization desires to have, distribute or consume alcoholic beverages on public property, as above described, in the City of Fulton, New York, said individual or organization must:
(1) 
Apply for and secure from the Clerk/Chamberlain of the City of Fulton or his designee, with the approval of the Chief of Police or his designee, a permit to authorize the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages at a specific time and place and submit with said application a copy of any licenses or other authorization required from the New York State Liquor Authority. The permit must be approved and signed by the Mayor of the City of Fulton or his designee.
[Amended 12-1-2009 by L.L. No. 6-2009]
(2) 
Agree in writing to assume full responsibility for supervising the conduct of the group of individuals benefiting from such permit and to properly clean up the premises after use and to take all necessary precautions to ensure that minors will not be served alcoholic beverages during the period of the permit.
B. 
Such permit and application shall be on such forms as are designed by the Clerk/Chamberlain of the City of Fulton.
[Amended 12-1-2009 by L.L. No. 6-2009]
C. 
The permit shall be revocable by the Chief of Police or his designee if the conduct of the function for which the permit has been issued creates a breach of the peace, constitutes a public nuisance or endangers the attendees thereof.
D. 
Nothing in this article shall be construed to apply to the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages used within the conducting of a religious service, including but not limited to sacraments or other similar religious observances.
[Amended 9-6-1988]
The violation of any of the provisions of this article shall constitute a violation and shall be punishable by a maximum fine of $250 and/or by imprisonment for a maximum of 15 days, and each day any violation shall continue shall constitute a separate violation.
The provisions of this article are specifically adopted by the Fulton Common Council on this 29th day of April 1986 in an effort to bring this article into compliance with the constitutional requirements as spelled out by the Court of Appeals and its previous holders. It is the intent of the Fulton Common Council to make unauthorized and unlicensed consumption of alcohol in a public place a crime and to make possession of any open container of alcohol with the intent to consume the same in a public place a crime. It is the intent of this article to make the possession of an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a public place give rise to the rebuttable presumption that, by possession, an individual intends to consume the same in a public place.