New Britain, CT Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Sec. 4-2(a) states flatly that no person shall consume alcohol or alcoholic beverages of any kind in any public area in the city. Subsection (b) defines "public area" to include, without limitation, streets, roadways, sidewalks, parking areas and parking garages, unless the area is private property and the person drinking has the owner's permission to use it that way. Subsection (c) carves out the single site-specific exception: consumption is allowed where the state Liquor Control Commission has issued a beer, liquor, or other alcoholic permit at the A.W. Stanley Golf Course. This is distinct from Sec. 4-1, which times the sale, dispensing and consumption of alcohol generally to the hours set by Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 30-91, and from Sec. 4-3, which separately bans possession of alcohol by minors and imposes a $90.00 fine on hosts who knowingly let a minor drink at an event. Chapter 4 sets no dedicated fine for a Sec. 4-2 violation itself.