Work with the Bar Crawl, Not Against It

By Gamal Hennessy


The New York Post recently printed an attack bar on concentration in the East Village, attempting to draw a connection between the number of bars in a given area and the number of AA groups in the same neighborhood. This story came on the heels of an attempt by the Murray Hill community board to limit or control bar crawls. (New York Magazine, Gothamist, DNA Info) and rumblings that Groupon and other related discount services might face legal hurdles when it comes to discounts associated with liquor sales. All these stories are separate, and none of them can shut down venues on their own, but for NIMBY’s they each provide ammunition to reduce nightlife in New York City.


They also provide ammunition for advocates of nightlife who want to push for more support from city agencies. Real estate costs in Downtown Manhattan are among the highest in the country. The only businesses that can afford to operate there (besides Chase, Duane Reade and Starbucks) are ones that cater to people from outside the city.


That is where nightlife comes in. Nightlife is an industry that caters to people from the neighborhood, around the city, around the country and in some cases, around the world. If nightlife is a source of jobs, tourism and tax revenue in good economies and bad ones, which it is (Nightlife Economic Impact Study), then it is something that the city needs to support. If there is a number of venues in a certain area that facilitate bar crawls and happy hours but causes distress and concern with local residents, then the city needs ways help nightlife work with rather than against the local residents.


There are several ways the city can help. Increasing police presence during times of peak activity (Where are the Cops?) can limit the noise and fanatic behavior (The Four Residents of Nightlife) that causes complaints. Increasing sanitation services can limit the waste left behind by a spike in patrons. The solutions are there, but it is unlikely that City Hall will spend more money to support nightlife during a time of continued financial crisis. There seems to be money to create bike lanes and enforce a nanny state but none to create an environment where nightlife works better with the residents (Bloomberg's Nightlife Record). Perhaps it is easier to paint nightlife as a villain than to take on the challenge of creating a solution for both the industry and residents. But since that hasn't worked so far, it might be time to try and find ways to work with the nightlife and the bar crawls, instead of against them.


Have fun.
Gamal

Patrons: The Missing Link in Nightlife Politics

By Gamal Hennessy

Last week, local politicians organized a nightlife town hall meeting so different elements of the community could speak to and ask questions of members of the New York State Liquor Authority. A variety of different groups showed up. Some, like the bar owners and other local businesses, were in favor of protecting nightlife. Others, like local block associations and community board members, were in favor of curtailing nightlife. Each group voiced their concerns about a variety of issues that touched the industry, including the land zoning, noise ordinances, police presence and the smoking ban. Each group showed that they have an established organization and are looking to increase their influence in this aspect of the city.

But there was no one there to speak on behalf of nightlife patrons.

The Sound of Silence
This is ironic because most of the issues in nightlife are ultimately about patrons. When residents complain about noise, pollution and traffic congestion they are referring to the actions of patrons, not the operators or the bars themselves. Operators want to remain in certain areas because patrons will come to those areas. They want to serve liquor because patrons won’t show up if there is no liquor. Store owners want to serve patrons who are out at night. Police and EMS largely have to deal with patrons when they venture into nightlife. But even though this is all about the presence and actions of patrons, there is no constant voice speaking for us.

Isn’t that normal? Aren’t we just in it for the wine, women and song? Do any of us really care about smoking bans, anti-dancing laws, crime, violence and the cost of having fun? Do we want to have a say in which venues stay opened and which ones close? Isn’t it easier to leave politics for the politicians?

Image and Influence
Nightlife politics is important to patrons for reasons of influence and image. Nightlife is one of the reasons that many patrons move to New York in the first place. Our lifestyle, our entertainment and our hustles revolve around this environment. Among certain elements of club patrons, there is dissatisfaction with the way things are. These elements desire to see change and improvement in the industry. But if we don’t use our ability to influence a part of our life that is important to us, then how can we complain about the problems it has? How can things get better if we don’t speak up and define what “better” means and how we can go about improving the situation?

Other interested groups have the chance to express different elements within their large groups. Operators constantly differentiate good operators (who work with residents when problems arise) from bad ones (who abuse their position). Residents get to explain that they are not all NIMBYs and can focus on specific concerns that they have. If no one speaks for patrons, it is easy to lump us all together in the same group of loud, drunken and sloppy fanatics. We become the villain in the story, something to be contained, controlled or removed.

But our reality is not that offensive. Hundreds of thousands of patrons visit nightlife every week. The vast majority of us participate in nightlife without incident. There are tens of millions of nightlife patrons who move through the city every year. If we were nothing more than an unruly mob, New York would be an apocalyptic wasteland by now. Yes, there are fanatics who roam among us creating all sorts of problems at night, but they are a minority. The rest of us cannot be defined by their actions. But if we don’t speak up how will anyone know?

Finding a Voice
It isn’t easy for a diverse group to speak with one voice. The things that the wine bar crowd wants will be different than what the club kids are looking for which will be different from what the bottle crowd, the gay crowd or the live music fans need. But every large political group contains different subgroups. Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Conservatives and every other interest group find a niche within the larger organization. Nightlife patrons are no different. It’s not an issue of creating one universal patron position. It is an issue of patrons voicing any position at all.

An interested patron doesn’t have to go out and start a political action group to get involved. There are already organizations in place where you can make your opinions known. You could get involved with the Nightlife Preservation Community that is designed for patron involvement in nightlife. You can get involved with your local community board, since that is a forum where many nightlife issues are debated on a regular basis. Or you could just step up to the microphone at the next Town Hall meeting and provide a voice for the largest group within the nightlife industry.

Have fun
G

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