Liquor Stores Correlate With Poughkeepsie Crime
Bottles filled with golden liquor sparkle in the early morning sunshine on almost every corner within the City of Poughkeepsie, but crime in correlation with these licensed locations reveals they may be a harmful convenience.
The City of Poughkeepsie accounts for approximately 9% of all liquor-licensed stores in Dutchess County with 96 out of the total 1049 stores falling within the municipality. Laws around liquor are strictly enforced by the New York State Liquor Authority, including benefits from the establishment of storefront locations.
“In evaluating whether public convenience and advantage will be served by issuing the license, the Authority generally considers whether the area is adequately served by existing wine stores or liquor stores.”
And there is no lack of convenience, the bulk of these stores are found along Main Street and in close proximity to the Justice Center, the same areas listed as “most dangerous” by Neighborhood Scout.
“I’ve been here for 20 years and we have never had a ‘panic button’,” said Ronnie Casnocha, a cashier at Poughkeepsie Wine and Liquor on Main Street. “[Crime] is mostly gang and drug-related that I can tell.”
The NY Liquor Authority also considers population demographics in justifying new sites. Thrifty Beverage Center, a wholesale liquor vendor, occupies the lot directly outside the jail and Crazy Bob’s Wine and Liquor Mart is just .02 miles down the road.
“Being near the jail and homeless shelters, we get a wide range of people coming in,” said Rich Stevens, employed at Crazy Bob’s. “Maybe 50%” he said when asked about the percentage of sales attributed to those populations.
Popular items include cheap wine, pints, and half pints of liquor that seem to fly off the shelves. Stevens explained that the average customer normally spends between $10 and $20 on wines, pints, and more.
In 2022 (so far), 24% of premature deaths have been attributed to alcohol over-consumption. It’s a rare occurrence, but Casnocha recounted those who have tried to purchase beverages while already intoxicated:
“A few walk through the door swaying, slurring their words, and I tell them we can’t sell to them and they have to leave.”
For some, to drink or not to drink is no choice; it’s an addiction, a need. The question now becomes whether alcohol facilitates crime, or does liquor sells where crime prevails? Either way, Poughkeepsie is drowning at the bottom of the barrel.
