Cuomo Slingin' Booze With the Best of 'Em: Report

This post was written by C. Zawadi Morris. 

New York's governor ain't shy with the suds, apparently. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo boasts that, since he took office, the average waiting time to obtain a license from the State Liquor Authority has been cut in half – from six months to between two and three months – under his administration, reported The Times Union.   

"By quickly and efficiently processing applications for new businesses, the State Liquor Authority is assisting New York's vibrant alcohol retail and manufacturing sectors, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and increased economic development across New York state,” Cuomo said according to the paper.   

But some say more still needs to be done, including Assemblyman Frank Skartados, who is a former restauranteur: "The success and failure of businesses depends on timing, and time is money," he said. "It continues to be a work in progress, as far as I'm concerned."   

Cuomo said that a lot has been done — the backlog of unprocessed applications for obtaining a license from the SLA has dropped from 750 from the time he took office to 194 this month, with several programs helping to expedite the process.