Blue Laws - Rochester Wiki

The term "Blue Laws" originally applied to laws enacted by the Puritans in seventeenth-century Connecticut to regulate moral behavior. They focused on what people must or must not do on the Sabbath and many other religious-related acts and called for rather harsh punishments to be applied to offenders.

The term blue law refers to regulations governing the opening of various retail establishments on Sunday. Many of the blue laws relate to when establishments can sell beer, wine and liquor.

Further, regulation of alcholic beverages is normally referred to by the term liquor laws. In NY stat they are managed by the New York State Liquor Authority

There have been a number of recent significant changes to the liquor laws in New York State.

Liquor stores were allowed to open on Sunday if the store closed on another day of the week.
Wineries in NY state were allowed to ship out of state, and out-of-state wineries were allowed to ship into NY.
Liquor stores were allowed to open six days per week of their choice. Most stores remain closed on Sundays.

References

blue laws on Snopes.com
County Closings page - liquor closing hours by county

Comments:

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2005-11-16 08:28:50 Are strip club regulations also considered part of the blue laws? —MariahBetz

2005-11-16 10:05:13 I would think so, but they're also heavily tied into the liquor laws (full nudity isn't allowed if alcohol is served). —TomMaszerowski

2006-01-04 22:51:22 I keep getting told that you can't sell Everclear in NY, but I can't find any laws that support this. Anyone have any clue? Is this a Monroe County thing? —AndrewGill

2007-11-27 12:42:31 Hey - at least you can buy beer at gas stations and drug stores! Sucks to be in PA :) —SaraChristine

2007-11-27 17:07:54 In Washington DC, some stores cannot sell beer (or any alcohol), while others can sell beer, still others can sell both beer and wine and others have a full liquor store inside a grocery store. These are all in the same city and sometimes within walking distance of each other. —BadFish