BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - New Year's Eve falling on a Saturday isn't good news for everyone.
Eris Evolution, an event venue in Brooklyn, filed a lawsuit Aug. 4 against the New York State Liquor Authority over a law that prevents it from obtaining a so-called "all-night permit."
When the new year begins at midnight, it will be on a Sunday. A state law "enacted solely for religious purposes" prohibits Eris Evolution and others from staying open between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., the suit says.
"New Year's Eve is not a day of rest for most New Yorkers," the lawsuit says. "There is no secular purpose behind the prohibition of All-Night Permits on New Year's Sundays."
Currently, Eris can't even apply for the permit, even though it has been issued one in years past, with the exception of COVID-ravaged 2021. It seeks court intervention to allow it to do so.
Jonathan Corbett of Corbett Rights in Hollywood, Calif., is representing the plaintiff.