Group creates awareness about tougher social host law

A week before Long Beach High School seniors celebrate their prom and graduation, the Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking announced that it has launched a new advertising campaign called “LongBeachAware.org” to address the dangers of underage drinking — and remind residents about tougher penalties for serving alcohol to minors on private property.

The ads and posters, which read, “Who’s liable? You are,” will run on the Long Island Rail Road train platforms, in the Herald and on city buses.

The coalition’s ad campaign comes a month after the City Council passed a measure that increases the fine for anyone who violates the city’s social host law.

In May, the council voted unanimously to increase the fine from up to $250 to $1,000 for adults who violate the law, which prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors on private property. Violators may also face up to 15 days in jail, subject to judicial discretion.

In 2006, Long Beach became the first city in New York State to pass the social host law. Passage of the ordinance had been a goal of the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, a local community-based nonprofit organization focused on changing the culture around drugs and alcohol and protecting young people.

Judi Vining, the coalition’s executive director, said that the coalition worked with its subcommittee that sets policy, which includes Police Commissioner Michael Tangney, City Council President Scott Mandel and Corporation Counsel Corey Klein, among others, to give the social host law some “teeth.” Vining and others said that teens viewed the previous penalties as a “slap on the wrist.”

Vining said that the coalition decided to highlight the increased fines and other issues around underage drinking with a “new, bold ad campaign.”