The author of the first public drinking law, in 1979, said on the law's purpose:

>"We do not recklessly expect the police to give a summons to a Con Ed worker having a beer with his lunch". [0]

Yet today, if you have a beer in the park at lunch you will get ticketed, or at least a warning. The lesson? Do not rely on discretion and restraint to make up for an overly expansive letter-of-the-law.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_New_York#cite_...