Bloomberg’s Nightlife Record

By Gamal Hennessy

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to announce plans to run for a third term in office tomorrow. Various groups are weighing in before the official announcement and the outcome will be controversial no matter how it shakes out. Nightlife, as a distinct facet of the city, also needs to consider the implications of Bloomberg’s tenure. What has the mayor done to support or hinder nightlife during his term? Is nightlife better off with a new mayor?

To get a better picture of how the mayor has impacted nightlife recently, NYN went through all of its past coverage to find Bloomberg’s influence, even though all these events cannot be directly tied to him. Here is a sampling of his programs affecting nightlife since 2003.

Supporting the nightlife industry

October 2007: New York Nightlife Association and New York City Police Department create a new plan to improve security conditions after two separate nightclub murders.

October 2007: New York City launches multi-media campaign to attract tourists to various aspects of New York City, including nightlife.

February 2008: NYC expands its free condom offering to bars and restaurants in the face of rising HIV rates.

July 2008: Mayor signaled willingness to rescind the cabaret law, although that willingness has not been backed up by actions at this point.

Opposing the nightlife industry
March 2003: New York City institutes a smoking ban in bars, clubs and restaurants. While smoking rates have gone down citywide and anecdotal evidence suggests that non smokers now go out more, the ban has amplified issues between local residents and clubs.

June 2007: Mayor’s plan for congestion pricing in midtown threatened to create residual traffic jams on nights and weekends when the tax wouldn’t be in effect.

September 2007: Arguments between the city and local taxi drivers over GPS, credit card, TV screens in the back of all cabs boil over into a cab strike.

April 2008: The NYC Department of Health targets select gay clubs for violations while possibly ignoring a majority of others

Real Estate Issues
The mayor enjoys support in the voting community and in the business sector. Their basic argument is that the extraordinary economic times that we live in call for a mayor that has the business experience to see the city through this difficult time.

When you look at how business has fared in New York recently, it is worth noting that the real estate sector, which experienced a boom under Mr. Bloomberg, is in full retreat now after years of wild profit speculation and uncontrolled growth. It also makes sense to point out that the encroachment of residential real estate into formerly commercial areas where nightlife thrived added to the conflict between clubs and local residents who didn’t want to have their illusion suburban quiet disturbed while they slept in the middle of the city. A more balanced investment by the city between more residential real estate and more support for local nightlife might have been the wiser business strategy.

It is easy to see how Mayor Bloomberg’s term in office was more beneficial to New York nightlife than Mayor Giuliani’s, since Rudy would have preferred to close all clubs. It is difficult to say that his impact on New York nightlife has been wholly negative, given some of his actions. It is impossible to tell if nightlife would be given more support to thrive under a new mayor because we don’t know who the opposing candidate might be. But it is possible to see that he is willing to impose his own lifestyle on others and circumvent or rewrite laws to achieve his goals. If that kind of brazen cowboy attitude to power fails miserably on a national level with Bush/Cheney, what makes us think it will work better on a city level?

Have fun.
Gamal

Source: Michael Barbaro: New York Times

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Dancing on the Grave of the Cabaret Law

Kathleen Lucadamo: New York Daily News

Since the 1920’s, there has been a New York law that makes it illegal for a bar or club to have more than five people dancing to music unless it had a license for that activity. Out of the 1,200 nightlife spots in New York, only 200 have this license. Previous administrations have used this law to close clubs that they considered undesirable. It now appears that the Bloomberg administration is ready to take steps to repeal the cabaret law and get the city out of the business of dance regulation.

There are more than a few explanations about why the law was put in place, but the prevailing idea is that the 1920’s saw a rise in the perceived evils of women’s liberation and interracial dating and that jazz clubs were flashpoints for this undesirable activity. The law didn’t stop jazz, women or interracial dating, but it stayed on the books for almost 80 years before it was enforced again.

The Giuliani administration began to use the law to shut down clubs that didn’t conform to his “quality of life” crusade. After his demise, the enforcement of the law continued, just in a subdued way. Clubs found creative ways to get around the law and keep butts moving. Grass roots organizations like Metropolis in Motion have staged Dance Parades to put a spotlight on the issue. Now, Mayor Bloomberg is making moves to have the law repealed or ‘reduced’.

New York Nights has advocated the repeal of the cabaret laws since we started. While there are issues of overcrowding, ventilation, emergency exits and other security measures in certain clubs, prohibiting dance in all clubs doesn’t solve any of these problems. It is good to see local government take steps to support (or at least stop attacking) the nightlife that makes New York unique. Hopefully, the repeal of the cabaret law won’t come with any conditions that stifle us in a different way.

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