THE already strained relationship between publicans, police and the City of Sydney Council has been stretched further after dozens of inner-city streets were declared alcohol-free zones.

Council officers and police will have the power to confiscate alcohol on nearly 180 streets across Sydney, including 34 in Kings Cross, Redfern, Surry Hills and Newtown which were added to the list on Monday night.

The ability to seize alcohol in these zones will extend for four years, and council officers and police will have the power to issue a maximum $2200 fine to drinkers who do not co-operate.

Drinking alcohol on streets is legal in NSW except in the zones.

An inner-city publican, Andrew Jolliffe, said yesterday that while the new zones aimed to control drinking on streets, he was worried it was part of a wider crackdown on pubs.