80-Year Alcohol Ban Lifted in Sullivan County Town
After 80 years, the ban on the sale of alcohol in Neversink has finally been lifted.
The Sullivan County Board of Elections says that residents of Neversink will now be able to purchase alcohol both in restaurants and convenience stores in the town following the opening of absentee ballots on Friday.
This was the fourth time residents went to the polls to vote on such a referendum, according to the Times Herald Record. Jennifer Grimes, who's the owner of Eureka Market and Cafe, started the campaign again this year to get the referendum on the ballot. Grimes said there were more people than before in the town who wanted to repeal the ban, and that's why she pushed for change.
Sullivan County historian John Conway says the ban originated in the early 1935, only two years after ratification of the 21st amendment, when Neversink residents wanted to keep out the drunken ruckus caused by temporary workers, who were in town working on the Sullivan County reservoir system. Other historians point to an incident where a man was hit by a car when stumbling out of a combination barbershop and saloon.
The vote means there are eight remaining towns in New York that are completely dry, according to a 2012 memo from the State Liquor Authority.