![]() To find indie clubs that support local talent, artists have had to look elsewhere - and Elsewhere, it turns out, can now be found in Bushwick off the Jefferson L. Photo: Courtesy of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Mayor de Blasio and Marky Ramone signing the Office of Nightlife bill at House of Yes in September. This is the situation that the nightlife mayor is meant to address: In the cultural capital of the world, you can literally count the number of decently sized independent spaces on one hand. Beyond that, there’s a smattering of independent and underground clubs that operate around the city - but they are vanishing as well. That leaves a handful of independent outlets: Baby’s All Right and Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bazaar in Greenpoint, (Le) Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village, and the Knockdown Center in Queens. In April, Webster Hall, which had been run by a single family for 27 years, was bought by AEG and the people who own Barclays Center. Bowery Presents used to run many of the smaller-capacity spaces, booking new and mid-career bands in Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, and Music Hall of Williamsburg - but Bowery Presents was recently purchased by AEG Presents. In fact, the city faces a cultural existential crisis: Independent venues whose nightly concerts are coordinated by small-time bookers and not big corporations like Live Nation and AEG Presents are rapidly disappearing. The report concludes, “This presents a potential problem for maintaining a thriving artist community, and NYC as the destination of choice for up and coming artists.” Over 20 percent of such venues have closed in the past 15 years. It found that more tickets are sold for live performances here than in any other city in the world (5.4 million in 2015) and that New York can still support additional venues - but that the most at-risk sector is the small local venue that supports artist communities. The announcement of New York’s Office of Nightlife comes not long after the release of an influential report, in March, by the city’s Office of Media and Entertainment, which oversees the city’s music industry. ![]() Several American cities now have a nightlife mayor, including San Francisco, Austin, and, surprisingly, Iowa City. The idea for such a position is not without precedent: Amsterdam was the first to create one, followed by London and Paris. ![]() The nightlife mayor will liaise between the city and the nightlife community, while being advised by a 12-member panel of nightlife advocates, community members, and restaurant and bar owners. The Office of Nightlife will be run by a “nightlife mayor,” who will be tasked with, yes, staying up all night (or so Espinal, who drafted the bill, would prefer) to deal with nightlife-related issues. Music rescue license license#The office, which will be opened by next spring, comes on the heels of the city’s decision, prompted largely by Bushwick City Council member Rafael Espinal, to repeal a 91-year-old cabaret law that required a special license for dancing venues. ![]() The vibe is reliably nightclub–meets–adult circus, even on the Tuesday night in September when Mayor Bill de Blasio pulled up in his motorcade to sign legislation to create the city’s first Office of Nightlife. ![]() The festivities typically feature feasts served on naked bodies, burlesque performances, and barely clothed aerial dancers, men and women both, locked in hanging cages. The House of Yes is a club in Bushwick famous for its lusty, sex-positive parties. ![]()
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