SLA brass using new Ministry of External Affairs as buffer for opinions, suggestions
Ever wonder why it takes a year or more to get a New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) hearing on a new proposed premise for a liquor or wine store?
The short answer is that the way the Licensing Bureau structures its workflow fails to take into account that new liquor/wine and wine stores are the only license classes that do not qualify for a temporary retail permit. All retail applications take from 6 to 12 months to get a review, in our recent experience. And the agency prides itself on reviewing applications in the order received.
The problem is that landlords want rent and they don’t care to hear the excuses about the backlog. And applicants can’t go ahead and build their store because they don’t know if the location will get approved because of the haphazard, arbitrary and often contradictory way the Members consider new locations (a topic for another day). As a result, applicant’s wait a year or more for their hearing and expend a lot of money for that privilege. When they finally get their hearing, they only get five minutes to plead their case; much of that time is spent by the Members reading materials submitted in writing a week before the meeting.
Something’s got to give. But the senior SLA leadership doesn’t want to hear that. Help is not on the way.
Last week, I suggested to senior brass by email that the agency assign an examiner in each of the three offices to review new liquor and package store applications exclusively. The New York City office did this many years back and it worked great. All new liquor and wine store applications were reviewed within 30 days. The gross sales request letters and deficiency letters went out at the same time. Within 60 days of filing, these applications and the examiner’s summary went to the deputy commissioner of licensing for review. A memo was written and sent to the Secretary’s Office to be placed on the next available agenda.
When that process was followed, applicants could expect their hearing within 120 days of filing. In some cases, it was just 90 days. Fast forward to 2026. The three new package stores being considered on Jan. 28 were filed between January an March of 2025 — 10 to 12 months. That’s just not reasonable, in our view.
The extended wait times for a hearing is not happenstance. There are currently 116 liquor store applications filed between 1/1/2025 and 6/30/2025, according to my database. (Future topic: Although state law requires the agency to maintain a public license query on its website that tells applicants when they can expect a review, the agency doesn’t do either. They provide bulky spreadsheets on an another agency’s website that is not user friendly).
In any event, the top brass did not take kindly to this industry representative’s well-reasoned and practical suggestion. Instead, I got an email reply from someone not on the original group email. “I recently joined SLA as the new Director of External Affairs,” the official wrote, using the Orwellian title assigned to the post. “Going forward, please route all operation questions, materials and correspondence through me rather than sending them directly to the Commissioners.”
In other words, “Go away. Suggestions are not appreciated by the people who are in charge here.”
I won’t go into my response here. Email john@nybarguy.com from a private, non-agency email and I’ll be happy to share with you. Also, feel free to share your thoughts confidentially or just call me a jerk.
I will continue to make suggestions. I will not go away. Meanwhile, the unnecessary backlog and extended processing times will continue.