[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:
Any beer, wine, liquor and any other alcoholic beverage,
as more specifically defined by the New York State Alcoholic Beverage
Control Law.
Any bottle, can, glass or other receptacle suitable or used
to hold any liquid.
Unsealed, accessible to or for direct consumption, including
but not limited to pop-top cans, uncorked bottles or liquor bottles
with broken seals.
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.
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]]
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.
