Governor ignores recommendations on wine sales
By DENNIS PHILLIPS Special to the OBSERVERIs Gov. David Paterson ignoring the advice of a state Law Review Commission when he proposes to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores?
He is according to the Last Store on Main Street. The coalition of small business advocates has been embarking on a statewide campaign to prevent the legalization of wine sales in grocery stores since Paterson proposed the idea in last year's budget. Last Store on Main Street said the governor is ignoring the advice of the state Liquor Authority.
On Dec. 15, a report by the commission on the state Liquor Authority stated Paterson should not propose the legalization of wine in grocery stores in his 2010-11 Executive Budget.
"What was the point of having a commission spend all that time and money to produce a report if you are just going to ignore it?'' said Jeff Saunders, founder of the Last Store on Main Street coalition and president of the Retailers Alliance. ''Rather than follow the recommendations of the commission, the governor clearly followed the wishes of 'Big Box' store lobbyists who are looking to destroy our businesses. That's just wrong.''
The commission's report said the state should put wine in grocery stores on hold because it required a significant and independent economic review.
"The commission deserves praise for its efforts to keep the best interests of New Yorkers in mind and these efforts should not be ignored,'' said Stefan Kalogridis, a coalition leader and president of the state Liquor Store Association. ''The governor should heed the recommendations of his commission rather than giving in to pressure from grocery stores to rubber stamp their bad idea. We know that legalizing the sale of wine in 19,000 new outlets would have a devastating impact on our businesses and generate little in the way of recurring revenue for the state.''
However, Matt Anderson, a spokesperson for the governor's budget office, said the commission's report does not apply to the new proposal this year that allows for additional benefits for liquor store owners.
This year's bill has added new provisions to try to level the playing field between large supermarket chains and small mom-and-pop liquor stores. Some of the new provisions added to the bill are - liquor stores would be allowed to sell items complimentary to their business, they would be allowed to sell directly to restaurants and retailers, they would be able to form buying pools that would allow them to buy in bulk and lower costs. The new law would allow liquor store owners to obtain more than one liquor license, which currently isn't allowed. The bill would also create a ''medallion'' system, through which existing store owners will be able to auction of their existing licenses to the highest bidder, and sell the one additional license this section allows them to obtain from the state Liquor Authority
"This is a different proposal. This proposal is positive for the liquor store industry,'' Anderson said. ''This proposal would benefit the state as a whole. The wine industry and grape growers would have a wider market for their product. This is a smart proposal and it provides a greater choice.''
Anderson said the proposal would also help in alleviate the state's budget deficit. Paterson's plan to have New York join the 35 states that allow supermarket wine sales would bring an estimated $93 million in store franchise fees.
Last year's bill was defeated after liquor store owners and sympathetic lawmakers expressed concern over unfair competition with grocery stores and large chain stores.
In a Cornell University study conducted by Bradley Rickard, assistant professor of applied economics and management at Cornell, a model was created that assessed the likely impact of introducing wine into grocery stores. Twenty-one simulation experiments were conducted and found that liquor stores stand to lose 17 to 32 percent of their business.
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PhilJulian
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02-08-10 6:01 PM
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I an only speak for myself. I would probably buy more wine if it were sold in grocery stores. I don't have to go to a special store to buy meat (but I sometimes do), I don't go to a special store to buy beer. I don't have to go to a special store to buy toothpaste. Why do I hve to go to a special store to buy wine? Other states are doing it. Why should New York be different?
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Brendan
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02-08-10 5:09 PM
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Liquor store owners are just waging a campaign of fear and misinformation. This piece is a good example of that. I think you need to get your facts in straight. The title is very misleading and the statement about the Law Review Commission is false.
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lovethelake
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02-08-10 12:50 PM
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You ran this article last week. Then you ran an article indicating that no such report was done - a clarification or retraction, of sorts. Now you run the original, supposedly incorrect article again. So...which is it?
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SJMinTX
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02-08-10 7:03 AM
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Liquor Store owners need to band together and make it quite clear that if their representatives in Albany permit this to occur that a portion of their advertising budgets will be devoted to throwing them out come the next election. Petitions and calling your reps offices are what it will take. Enlist the help of your employees as well, who might lose their jobs as a result of this law passing. On the other hand, at least this time around the proposal is a bit more palatable. But it is still a half-baked idea. No need to rush this through now.
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