Much thanks to Rob Sacher of NYC's Luna
Lounge
for bringing this to my attention. |
First they tell us we can't dance. Then they tell us we can't
smoke. Now they want to tell us when to go to bed.
City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Gretchen Dykstra and other
officials in NYC are now actually proposing a 1:00 closing
time for venues with loud music unless they pay for a special
license. This is the latest in a string of moves aimed at
killing the city's nightlife. While this could conceivable
hurt all nightclubs, it will be especially devastating to
small live music venues that expose the world to new music.
You may recall that not to long ago, the city of Hoboken,
NJ tried a similar thing by calling for a 1:00 closing time
regardless of whether or not there was loud music. However,
it a sudden revelation (due to lost revenue) the city realized
their error and reversed the decision. A compromise was met
to allow bars and clubs to remain open until 3:00, but not
allow new patrons to enter after 2:00.
Unfortunately, NYC officials tend to leap headfirst into
bad decisions and stay there out of pride or greed or stupidity
or whatever. Since 9-11, we have lost jobs, businesses have
left, the economy is poor to say the least and for some odd
reason, they are attacking the one thing that consistently
brings much needed money to the area. The nightlife!
No Dancing! The Cabaret laws have proven to be disastrous
for many business owners who were forced to close due to the
expense of keeping up with the law. These are the famous regulations
requiring an establishment to pay a fee in order to allow
dancing. Those who can't afford to pay the needed "bribe"
money face the chance of getting summonsed because someone
bops or sways a little too much.
No Smoking! Then came the "we know what's best
for you" smoking ban. That one didn't even give the option
of a license. If someone smokes in your bar, you get fined
or shut down. So maybe this will help people cut down smoking,
but it has also cut down on a lot of folks gigging as well.
Unless of course they gig in Hoboken or Jersey City where,
in an ironic twist, many New Yorkers are now going to party
on the weekends.
So now we have the "Nightlife License"
to deal with. It is expensive enough to run a business in
NYC, now they want folks to pay even more?
My fear is that, in the city's quest to become the next Disneyland,
we will end up in ruins. Both financially and culturally.
Remember, the people who make these laws don't actually go
to the clubs, work in the bars or scrape to make $50 and a
beer playing a gig. They just want to line their dirty pockets
a little more in the name of what they feel is "right".
I say enough is enough!!
Click here to
read more and find out how to take action
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