Ramapo, NY Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Fine range
- $20 to $250 per violation
- Jail exposure
- Up to 5 days
- Territory covered
- Unincorporated Ramapo only
- Vehicle rule
- Open container presumed all occupants' possession
- Adopted
- 3-28-1979, L.L. No. 2-1979
Summary
In the unincorporated Town of Ramapo, carrying an open container of liquor, wine or beer with intent to drink it, or actually drinking it, on any public parking lot, sidewalk, street, highway or park is illegal under Town Code § 89-1. An open container anywhere inside a vehicle is presumed to belong to every occupant of that vehicle.
No person shall have, possess, carry or transport liquor, wine, beer or other alcoholic beverages in or upon any public parking lot, shopping center parking lot, public sidewalk, street or highway or park area in the unincorporated portion of the Town of Ramapo in open containers with the intent to consume the same in such public place or with the intent to have the same consumed by another person in such public place, and no person shall drink or otherwise consume liquor, wine, beer or other alcoholic beverages in or upon any public parking lot, shopping center parking lot, public sidewalk, street or highway or park area in the unincorporated portion of the Town of Ramapo. ... An open bottle or open container in which there is an alcoholic beverage in any vehicle shall be presumptive evidence that the same is in possession of all occupants and in violation hereof.
Full Breakdown
L. No. 2-1979), amending it in 1983 and again on February 6, 2012. Section 89-1(A) prohibits having, possessing, carrying or transporting liquor, wine, beer or other alcoholic beverages in open containers with intent to consume them, or actually drinking them, in or upon any public parking lot, shopping center parking lot, public sidewalk, street, highway or park area, but only in the unincorporated portion of the Town: the villages within Ramapo's borders, including Spring Valley, Suffern, Airmont and the others, enforce their own separate codes.
Section 89-1(B) adds a presumption rule specific to vehicles: an open bottle or open container holding an alcoholic beverage found in any vehicle is presumptive evidence that it is in the possession of every occupant, not just the driver or the person nearest it. That shifts the burden onto passengers to show the container was not theirs. The law does not distinguish between beer, wine and liquor, and it reaches shopping-center lots as well as Town streets and parkland, so a can left open in a strip-mall parking lot is treated the same as one on a public sidewalk.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Article I of Chapter 89 is punishable, upon conviction, by a fine of not less than $20 nor more than $250 for each violation, and/or by a term of imprisonment not to exceed five days, under Ramapo Code § 89-2. Each open container or each act of drinking can be charged as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I carry a closed bottle of wine through a Ramapo park?
Does the open-container law apply inside Village of Suffern or Spring Valley?
If I'm a passenger and someone else opened the beer, am I still liable?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ramapo
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