Getting arrested for drinking in public is lame. You're just trying to have a good time, and the next thing you know, you're in handcuffs.

The good news is, that won't happen in New York City again. Like, ever. 

Gizmodo reported that, very quietly, the city just decriminalized public drinking.

This is good news not just for those of us who love getting a little buzz going during picnics in NYC's parks and while waiting in line for NYC's free concerts; it's good news for the city at large.

Manhattan's district attorney just announced the borough will no longer arrest people for public consumption of alcohol, unless that public drinker is posing a threat to the safety of themselves and others.

Now, before you start cheering and running around and drinking outside, know this: It's not strictly legal. 

If you're caught drinking outside, you might get a summons and be ordered to pay a fine, but you are more likely to get a warning than anything else.

Besides notoriously fun New Orleans, there aren't many cities in the United States that have strictly legal public consumption of alcohol.

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In most cities where outdoor drinking is legal, it's relegated to special entertainment zones, where you're roped off in a drinking section, and drinking while penned up in a drinking section isn't that fun at all.

This is good news for fun, and it's also smart in terms of freeing up the NYPD to actually go after people perpetrating violent crimes rather than just enjoying a beer in Central Park.

In past years, the NYPD was super busy ticketing public drinkers when they could have been chasing after, you know, murderers. 

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In 2011, they issued 124,498 summonses for drinking in public. To put that in perspective, the NYPD issued more summonses for drinking in public in 2011 than they did for any other offense.

Is the same policy coming for marijuana? Well, Brooklyn's district attorney made a similar announcement regarding public toking up in 2014. In Brooklyn, you won't get arrested for smoking or possession.

So, you want to drink outside? Do it in Manhattan. You want to smoke outside? Do it in Brooklyn.

Those are our tips today. Have a fun beginning of March, everyone.

Check out 8 Best Spots for Bottomless Brunches in NYC

[via Gizmodo] [Feature Image Courtesy New York Daily News] 

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