SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, WINE SELLERS AND OTHERS RALLY
AT STATE CAPITOL TO STOP WINE SALES IN GROCERY STORES
Opponents of the Proposal Call on State Legislature to Reject Governor’s Plan
ALBANY, NY February 25, 2009 – Small business owners and independent wine sellers today joined with State Senator William Stachowski, law enforcement officials, and advocates committed to reducing drunk driving and underage drinking, to urge the State Legislature to reject Governor Paterson’s plan to legalize the sale of wine in grocery stores, gas stations, delis, bodegas and anywhere beer is now sold.
If implemented, this change would devastate many small businesses and cost the state thousands of valuable jobs. Additionally, the sale of wine in every store where beer is now available would give teenagers greater access to alcohol – resulting in a heightened risk of underage drinking and fatal drunk driving accidents.
“While I recognize the potential for increased sales if the state allows wine to be sold in grocery stores and other major establishments, I am not convinced that the benefits would outweigh inevitable losses down the road,” said Senator Stachowski, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business. “This is a time when we should be building up our ‘Main Streets’ and ‘mom and pop’ shops. In my opinion, the risk of losing these small businesses and the 4,000 jobs they create across the state is far too great. In addition, we must recognize the dangers of this proposal in terms of giving teens another way to access alcoholic beverages and potentially increase underage drinking.”
Jeff Saunders, president of the Retail Alliance Foundation, said, “This change would close more than 1,000 small businesses, which would result in the loss of more than 4,000 valuable jobs of hardworking New Yorkers. If this plan goes into effect, Big Box stores like Walmart and Whole Foods will benefit greatly, while one of the last small businesses in the state will suffer. That is bad for New York and bad for our economy. The Legislature must stop this proposal now.”
Last week, a new study by the Distilled Spirits Council of New York revealed the dangerous plan would not generate new revenue for the state as Governor Paterson has predicted, and in fact would result in a loss of revenue. The study also found that thousands of jobs would be lost if the plan is approved.
“New Yorkers know that destroying small businesses and the jobs they provide is just a bad idea in this shaky economy,” said Stefan Kalogridis of the New York State Liquor Store Association. “Supermarkets will not create one new job just because they can stock a different product on their shelves. Instead, they will put thousands of New Yorkers out of work.”
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In addition to the law enforcement community and store owners, the opposition to the proposal includes the National Federation of Small Businesses, the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce, the Plattsburgh North County Chamber of Commerce, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, more than 75 small and mid-sized wineries from around the state and the Erie County Legislature.
Massachusetts voters rejected a similar idea just last year because of the devastating impact it would have had on teenagers, no state has passed this kind of measure in 23 years. In Florida, California and Texas, three states where wine is sold everywhere, the number of alcohol related fatalities per 100,000 is more than double that of New York State. Even worse, alcohol related fatalities of those under age 21 are three times higher in these states where wine is sold everywhere, as compared to New York which has independently owned licensees, legally responsible for preventing youth from purchasing alcohol.
Law Enforcement Against Drunk Driving (LEADD) Chairman Dan Sisto revealed that a review of five years of State Liquor Authority (SLA) violations for serving minors in off-premise stores found that nearly 90 percent of the violations were in grocery and convenience stores.
“These findings demonstrate that teenagers target grocery and convenience stores when they try to purchase alcohol,” said Sisto, who is also vice president of the New York State Troopers PBA. “By dramatically expanding the availability of wine – which has twice the alcohol content of beer – this plan would endanger more teenagers. It’s a bad idea and should be rejected.”
Small independent wine retailers have greater control over who walks through their doors – large chain supermarkets do not have this heightened level of control, giving teenagers greater access to the illegal purchase of alcohol. Recent studies have shown that underage drinking is estimated to account for up to 20 percent of the alcohol market in U.S. Similarly, over 10 million youths aged 12 to 20 reported drinking in a month – if wine is sold in the state’s grocery stores, the number of underage drinkers in New York will skyrocket.
“This proposal would give teenagers easier access to alcohol without the scrutiny that wine sellers and liquor stores provide. That’s a dangerous idea that will only lead to an increase in underage drinking and drunk driving deaths,” said Ed Frank of Choices 301. “Underage drinking is a serious problem and we must do all we can to eliminate it rather than encourage it. We urge the State Legislature to find a better way to deal with the budget problems.”
Thousands of small business owners from across the state have gathered to form the Last Store on Main Street coalition to lead the fight against the legalization of wine sales in supermarkets. Due to the severe and even life-threatening consequences New Yorkers may face if this proposal goes into effect, the coalition has also launched a user-friendly website which provides detailed information on the issue. To access the website, log on to www.lastmainstreetstore.com.
LEADD includes: NYS Association of PBAs; Police Conference of New York; NYS Association of Chiefs of Police; NYC District Attorney Investigators Association; Police Conference of New York; NYS Troopers PBA; NYC PBA; Nassau County PBA; Suffolk County PBA; NYC Detectives Endowment Association; NYS Sheriffs Association; Port Authority PBA; NYC LBA; NYC CBA; NYS Capital District Parents Who Host Lose the Most Steering Committee; NYS Environmental Prevention Task Force; Choices 301; Long Beach Medical Center's Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking; Western New York Prevention Resource Center at GCASA; Chatham Middle School SADD Chapter.
