Newark, NJ Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

S. 33:1-1, in any place the public or a substantial group of persons has access, expressly including streets, sidewalks, highways, roads, parking areas, shopping areas, places of amusement, playgrounds and parks within the city. The ban extends to the interior of a stationary motor vehicle parked on a street, highway, road, or on the grounds of a parking area, shopping area, place of amusement, playground or park. Two carve-outs exist: premises licensed for on-site sale and consumption of alcohol, and City-permitted activities approved by the Business Administrator or a designee, such as a permitted street festival or block party.

Section 20:2-7a separately makes plain public drunkenness itself unlawful, covering any person drunk or intoxicated in a street or public place, or in a private house or place, to the annoyance of another person; that provision sits in the same section as the open-container ban because both are grouped under the code's general 'Drunkenness' heading. A related, narrower provision at § 20:2-26 bars drinking in an unlicensed business or mercantile establishment, such as a restaurant, diner, poolroom or dance hall, during the hours when consumption is prohibited on premises holding a plenary retail consumption license, and makes the owner, operator or employee liable if they allow it.