Assemblymember Robert Carroll has introduced legislation that would legalize open containers and drinking in public for the duration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's COVID-19 emergency disaster.

The legislation would apply to municipalities with bars and restaurants not operating at full capacity due to the pandemic, according to a release from Carroll.

"In many places throughout the world, open consumption of alcohol is permitted. In New York, the police and others turn a blind eye if the imbiber is drinking a glass of wine while listening to the New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn in Central Park, but if you're a young person on the beach at Coney Island drinking a nutcracker or a beer on your block with friends you can get a ticket.  That's discrimination and hypocrisy," Carroll said in the release.

Carroll goes on to say it is inevitable that police will "disproportionately enforce open container laws" on young, Black and brown residents unless legislation is passed.