Thursday, October 1, 2026
Many Long Beach businesses and organizations had a similar resolution in mind even before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve: Keep patrons and revelers from drinking and driving during the holiday weekend.
On Monday, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey announced that from 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 through 8 a.m. on Monday, police made 40 DWI arrests in Nassau County. According to Mulvey, 27 of those arrests were made between 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 and 7 a.m. on Jan. 1. Figures for the number of arrests made in Long Beach were not immediately available.
Despite the number of arrests made last weekend, however, Long Beach bar and restaurant owners, as well as businesses and organizations, said they went out of their way over the holiday weekend to help curb drinking and driving.
Long Beach Taxi, located at 1 Park Place, experienced a huge customer turnout on New Year’s Eve, and manager Ricky Carls said taking a cab was a popular alternative to getting behind the wheel after a few drinks. Carls said that the company experienced its biggest customer turnout between 3 and 4 a.m.
“We have a taxi line down in the West End at 927 West Beech, and it was a huge night,” Carls said. “They didn’t have to think about getting in a car and driving themselves, or driving with someone else that was drinking. [WE] were there for them.”
Some Long Beach restaurants made a point of trying to dissuade patrons from drinking and driving over the New Year’s Eve weekend. Ben Freiser, manager of the Beach House on West Beech Street, said that on New Year’s Eve, employees communicated with patrons in an effort to prevent them from drinking and driving.
“Bartenders were cautioned to take their time in providing drinks to customers,” said Freiser. “This year, we had a lot of people that came in to watch the ball drop. We didn’t have any problems. It was a real classy crowd.”
Jay Barje, manager of Minnesota's, also on West Beech Street, said that employees were prepared to assist patrons as well, and said that taxi information was readily available for those who needed transportation home and that bartenders and servers also reminded patrons to be safe.
“It’s only in our best interest to not have people drinking and driving,” said Barje. “We do take it very, very seriously. And it was a great weekend. There weren’t any issues.”
Judy Vining, coordinator for the Long Beach Medical Center’s Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, stressed the importance of not getting behind the wheel of a car after drinking.
“Once anyone has a drink or two, their judgment is impaired,” said Vining.
Vining said that drinking without moderation is a risk that should be avoided. “Dangerous drinking leads to poor choices,” she said. “And one of those choices is to get behind the wheel. [People] get behind the wheel because they think they can drive.”
In order to create awareness about the dangers of underage drinking, Vining said that the coalition launches a campaign each year called ‘Lock Up Your Liquor,’ which is intended for adults to protect their children from accessing alcohol.
The campaign, Vining said, starts on Thanksgiving and runs through New Year’s Day, and commences again around early June and through high school graduation.
“What we encourage parents to do is safeguard their homes,” she said. “Research tells us that the easier the access, the more kids drink.”
Comments about this story? Cengelhardt@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
