By KRIS VENEZIA
STAFF WRITER
The New York State Liquor Authority released the results of a sting operation, which showed that the Bronx is the Empire State’s biggest offender of selling alcohol to teens.
The closest accused offender to the Fordham University Rose Hill campus is the Rite Aid located near the Edgar Allan Poe House on Crosby Avenue.
Two state lawmakers, Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, are sponsoring new legislation to increase the penalties for selling to minors.
The legislation also carries harsher punishments for those who are caught using fake identification.
If the bills in Albany, N.Y., are passed, businesses who sell to minors would see their fines increased. Currently, those caught giving booze to people under 21 can see a punishment of up to $10,000.
Those who are caught trying to use fake IDs to purchase alcohol would also face stricter sanctions. The law aims to add more community service time for teens trying to purchase an illegal beverage.
Klein released a statement on this legislation, which said that he sponsored this bill to protect minors.
“Illegal liquor sales are putting our children’s lives at risk each and every day,” Klein said. “If we’re serious about stopping this problem, we need a comprehensive approach that makes fake IDs too easy to spot and too costly to use.”
A problem Klein has seen so far is not the technology but how to implement it in a variety of stores in the area.
“We have the technology to stop underage sales — now we need to get it into every retailer across the Bronx,” Klein said.
Crespo released a statement on the issue, and he emphasized that teenage drinking is a growing problem in New York City.
“We have a serious problem facing our communities, children and families in the scourge of underage drinking,” Crespo said. “Federal government research into underage drinking tells us that last month alone, 26.4 percent of underaged persons ages 12 through 20 used alcohol, and binge drinking among the same age group was 17.4 percent.”
“Alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today’s teenagers,” Crespo said. “Nearly three quarters of students [72 percent] have consumed alcohol. Among underage drinkers, 30.8 percent paid for the alcohol the last time they drank.”
Crespo believes that the availabilty of fake IDs is one of the main issues regarding underage alcohol purchases.
“It is obvious that New York needs to do more to eliminate fake IDs as a tool available to our youth for accessing alcohol,” he said.
New York City has been battling a growing underage drinking problem for the past few years. In February, hospitals reported that more teenagers were going to the emergency room for overconsumption of alcohol. This was even seen in the Fordham community.
The State Liquor Authority has fewer members on staff due to cuts, and there are fewer SLA personnel enforcing laws at bars and liquor stores across New York.
Some parents and groups argue that the lack of State Liquor Authority enforcement has led to more minors getting access to alcohol.
Joe Lynch, FCRH’15, is 21 years old, so he has no need for a fake ID. He said he frequents Mount Carmel and Northend Liquor near the Rose Hill campus.
“I get carded at these places, and my immediate reaction is to smile and throw my ID down,” Lynch said. “I understand they are asking for my ID because I don’t look that much older than 21, even with my Adam Levine scruff.”
“I think the problem with the legislation proposed [by Klein and Crespos] is that people under 21 will always find a way to get alcohol,” Lynch said.
No stores within a three mile radius of Rose Hill were listed in the State Liquor Authority sting operation.
