NOTICE: Revamping the Cabaret Laws, Tuesday, 6/24 2:30-9PM Public Hearing, NY -Today!

[mdpm99]

Hi David,
This was on the record collectors newslist I am
on.


PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) announces a public hearing on the City's cabaret laws. The City must find a balance
between preserving neighborhood quality-of-life
and ensuring a lively cultural scene. The
existing regulatory scheme governing cabarets is antiquated and unworkable, not addressing community concerns about key health and safety issues while posing a burden on good nightlife establishments. DCA seeks input from communities, businesses, elected officials and experts on questions that need answers before new laws
are proposed.

TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2003 2:30PM - 9:00PM

New York Law School, Stiefel Reading Room 57
Worth Street (between Church St. and West
Broadway), Manhattan
Wheelchair access is at 243 Church St.

***
MODERATORS:

Gretchen Dykstra, Commissioner
of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs


John Feinblatt, NYC CriminalJustice Coordinator

Jonathan Greenspun,
Commissioner of the NYC
Community Assistance Unit

2:30PM - 7:00PM Panel Presentations on
effective regulation of nightlife establishments
Panelists include
technology experts, club owners, community members, business leaders, & elected officials.

7:30PM - 9:00PM

Public comment

There will be a two-minute limit per person.

Some questions to be addressed:

*Should DCA do something about the cabaretlaws?

What criteria should DCA use to determine who
should get a license?

*Similar to other cities, should DCA consider
licensing establishments open after a certain time? If so, what time, where, and for which types of places?

*Should DCA regulate not-for-profit venues that may rent their space for nightlife events? Should the City consider temporary permits for these
venues?

*What should DCA do when a nightlife establishment
violates the regulations?

For more information or a full set of questions
to be addressed, please visit DCA online at www.nyc.gov/consumers. (http://www.nyc.gov/consumers.)


All signs point to this being the beginning of
the end everybody. The dept that administers the cabaret law is holding an all-day hearing on TUESDAY.It plans to reform the law by removing all regulations around dancing.

A great number of people have been working toward
this for many years now and this Tuesday should be a historical day. There's two ways the Mishpucha can help.

ONE is to forward the press release below to any
people you know in the media- newspapers, magazines, television. Legalize Dancing NYC is holding a press conference at 7pm to discuss the history of the law and the new reforms. Please let your press contacts know.

TWO is to speak out. From 7:30-9pm is an open
forum for the public to speak out about the law and nightlife. Please come and speak out in favor of a healthy nightlife and against government regulation of dancing.

Thanks

[ June 24, 2003, 07:28 AM: Message edited by: Gman ]

[Bold Soul]

boing^

[liL Ray]

If you love to party in NYC, or throw parties, or just hate red tape, you must be here and mobilize many more to be here in support....

[School of Visual Arts]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/gif/nyclogo.jpg
<a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/" target="_blank">
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
PUBLIC HEARING ON CABARET LAWS
JUNE 24, 2003 - 2:30PM - 9:00PM
New York Law School, 57 Worth Street, Manhattan</a>

========================================

7:30PM - 9:00PM Public Comments
There will be a two-minute limit per person.
Speak now or forever hold your peace.
Stand up and be counted.

========================================


COMMISSIONER DYKSTRA:
Questions for the Cabaret Law Hearing

Q: Do you believe that the City should do something about the current cabaret laws? If so, why?

Q: If you believe there are problems with cabarets what do you believe are the three top problems?

Q: Are those problems generally related to the size of the establishment, the location of the establishment or the hours of operation or a combination of factors?

Q: Do you think the City should continue to consider patron dancing as one of the criteria for determining who should be licensed?

Q: What criteria do you believe the City should use to determine who should get a license?

Q: In other cities there are nightlife licenses for places open after a certain time. Should New York consider that? If so what time? If so for which places? Where? Should the City differentiate between residential and commercial and manufacturing zones?

Q: What about not-for-profit venues? Sometimes organizations, such as fraternal organizations, houses of worship or local museums, rent their space to users who cause disturbances late at night. Should the City require a license for these venues? Is a one-day or multi-day temporary permit a viable options for such venues?

Q: Should the City consider requiring a nightlife license for any of the following establishments?

Eating and drinking establishments
Meeting halls or gymnasia at colleges, universities or trade schools
Bars or places of assembly in hotels, motels or moored ships
For profit or not-for-profit clubs
Banquet halls and catering facilities
Billiard parlors and pool halls
Bowling alleys
Indoor and outdoor recreational facilities
Amusement arcades
Art galleries

Q: Should the City consider insurance eligibility for a license?

Q: A licensing system should be simple. How can the City make the system easy and quick without sacrificing thoroughness? What role, if any, should communities play in the issuance of licenses?

Q: Noise, both inside and outside, is often an issue with cabarets and other establishments and some noise is worse than other noise. Should the City require some establishments to certify that they have taken all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the Noise Code. If so which places should be required to provide that certification?

Q: Should the City consider requiring such certification only when violations have been found? Is it appropriate for the City to require such certification based solely on complaints? If so how would the City differentiate the "real" complaints from those of competitors?

Q: Nightlife establishments may become focal points for police activity. Should the City require these establishments to hire their own guards?

Q: Should all establishments be required to hire guards? If not which establishments? How many guards? In uniform?

Q: Nightlife establishments sometimes attract cars, cabs and limousines, which can make noise, block traffic and cause congestion. Is there anyway for the City or the club operators to mitigate the problem

Q: What should DCA do when a licensed nightlife establishment violates the regulations?


===========================

the end IS near Mr. Mancuso.
Thank you for posting this event.

Ethnotronica Project

[School of Visual Arts]

http://www.legalizedancingnyc.com/header.jpg (http://www.legalizedancingnyc.com/)

Since 1997, when New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani created the multi-agency Nightclub Enforcement Task Force to enforce his "Quality of Life" campaign, the city has been waging a war against nightlife culture and industry. As clubs, bars and lounges are fined, padlocked and shut down, citizens are losing places crucial to fostering social interaction, and artists have fewer places to express themselves. Because of this, we feel the city is losing a vital part of its cultural identity and an economic engine that fuels a variety of city businesses. The most lethal weapon in the city¹s arsenal aimed against nightlife are essentially blue laws written in 1926 and rooted in Prohibition-era social paranoia called cabaret laws.

more... (http://www.legalizedancingnyc.com/whoweare.html)

View NO DANCING ALLOWED Film HERE (http://www.konscious.com/kNcontent.html?/dancing.html)

[liL Ray]

Hi Raven.... ;)

Heah GMAN, could you please "sticky" this at the top of the board, because it is that important to NYC nitelife....

...thanks... graemlins/thumbsup.gif

[ June 19, 2003, 11:47 PM: Message edited by: liL Ray ]

[School of Visual Arts]

Quote from NO DANCING ALLOWED movie

"I think it's most important for the dancers to come forward and make their point"

Please watch this issue if you don't do anything else. It should be your human right to dance when and where you want to without restriction. This is about control and power. Disneyland NYC.

"...dance like no one is watching" - lil ray ;)

[liL Ray]

Originally posted by ethnotronica:
"...dance like no one is watching" - lil ray ;) I walk it like I talk it!!!!

[blackwax]

bump

this is important the main reason i go to new york is to dance!

[The Donger]

You gotta check this funny shit out...

http://www.infopresse.com/mov.asp?file=traktor_siemens.mov

[mdpm99]

See you there!

smile.gif

d

[liL Ray]

^^^

[mhd]

Originally posted by Ghost Of Donger:
You gotta check this funny shit out...

http://www.infopresse.com/mov.asp?file=traktor_siemens.mov damn!! that was brilliant, loved the dispatcher, you gotta make this a separate thread

[The Donger]

Originally posted by mhd:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ghost Of Donger:
You gotta check this funny shit out...

http://www.infopresse.com/mov.asp?file=traktor_siemens.mov damn!! that was brilliant, loved the dispatcher, you gotta make this a separate thread </font>[/QUOTE]I love the way he plays every single person in there.

Good idea, I'm starting a new thread...

[ June 20, 2003, 10:48 AM: Message edited by: Ghost Of Donger ]

[mdpm99]

.

[School of Visual Arts]

The cabaret license is one of New York City's more bureaucratic necessities for running a nightclub, bar or similar establishment in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn or Staten Island. Basically, it's a license which permits the patrons of a nightclub to dance. Without the license, a nightclub can be raided and shut down (and they often are) if police officers find patrons dancing anywhere on the premesis, however it's the owners of the place that get in trouble, not the patrons, if no license has been issued.

The City of New York defines a "cabaret" as "...any room, place or space in the City in which dancing is permitted in connection with the restaurant business or the business of directly or indirectly selling food or drink to the public." This is according to Title 20, Subchapter 20 of the New York City Administrative Code. Any establishment caught violating the cabaret law is subject to fines, raids, lots of red tape, and getting its doors padlocked by the city.

The cabaret license, now largely obsolete but still maintained by the bureaucrats, first came into being in 1926, during Prohibition. Its original purpose was to prevent excessive lines outside of nightclubs and to fill all available space inside a nightclub if there were people waiting outside to get in. During the Giuliani years, it was an administrative cause to shut down "disreputable" places that the mayor and his moral task force didn't approve of. This is how Giuliani shut down most of the strip clubs around Times Square and a good chunk of the rave clubs like the Tunnel (for a few months in 1998) and Twilo (permanently shut down in 2001).

In late 1998 I was at the Pyramid on Avenue A, which didn't have a cabaret license but hosted several goth/80s dance nights where everybody danced all night long. One night a dozen or so NYC police officers burst into the place and made everybody leave (You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!), and the Pyramid was closed for several weeks afterwards. It eventually reopened with a cabaret license for the upstairs dancefloor, though they didn't get one for their basement lounge. Therefore a warning light of sorts was installed downstairs, and whenever it was illuminated, that meant that cops were upstairs, so everyone downstairs would stop dancing, thus avoiding the City's persecution.

The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs handles the issuing and revoking of cabaret licenses. Only places with a maximum capacity greater than 74 can apply for a cabaret license, otherwise none is needed. Other exceptions to the law are private organizations/clubs/societies, any religious, charitable, elemosynary or educational corporation or institution, or any place that was operating as a "cabaret" prior to January 1, 1926, which is when the cabaret law went into effect. Such establishments were allowed to continue acting as cabarets due to a grandfather clause in the law.

The full text of NYC's cabaret license application can be found at http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dca/html/cabapp.html

Despite the wealth of seemingly pointless laws in all areas of the USA, and indeed, around the world, this one has really had me scratching my head over the years. A license to dance?

======================

Excerpt from HERE (http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=cabaret%20license)

[mdpm99]

Greetings ethnotronica:

Much graemlins/respekt.gif to you, ethnotronica, for taking the time out to share with everyone the info you have been posting.

graemlins/thumbsup.gif

d

[School of Visual Arts]

From The Village Voice (http://www.villagevoice.com)
Week of August 22 - 28, 2001


Club Insiders Organize Fighting for the Right to Party
by Tricia Romano

While Giuliani's war on nightclubs continues, with Wetlands the city's most recent club casualty, the nightlife industry has decided to take matters into its own hands. In the face of what club owners see as constant harassment, they are doing the unimaginable in this self-serving world usually marked by gritty competition:

They are banding together.

In the last month, events planned by two groups of insiders, the Mishpucha collective and the newly formed New York City Late Night Coalition (NYCLNC), have been attended by some of the city's most powerful club owners, promoters, artists, and record-label reps, as well as dance club patrons.

New York City and State earn $109 million and $110 million respectively in tax revenue from the nightlife industry.

"It's becoming clear that it's a citywide campaign of closure and harassment," said the NYCLNC's Ted Oehmke. "You're talking about a group that is famously disenfranchised. No one has tried to organize these people into a coherent voice, and that's what we're trying to do."

"We have voters and we have money," says Matt E. Silver, promoter and cofounder of a third pro-nightlife group, Action New York, with Paper's David Hershkovits.

The collectives want to galvanize voters for the upcoming mayoral elections. They also hope to influence mayoral candidates, by demonstrating, through petitions and polls, support for an abolition of the cabaret law, and an end to the city's current practice of punishing nightclubs for 911 calls. Mishpucha's Adam Shore concedes that "we're a little late in the game," but says, "We're targeting the mayoral election. A lot of the anti-nightlife directions that Giuliani and Rudy Washington have pushed are coming from community boards and complaints. And those are not going to change when the next mayor is in, and he's going to have to respond to those people as well."

The nightlife organizations stress the economic impact of the late-night industry. "We want to show the city what a vital resource this business is, instead of trying to wipe it off the streets of New York," said Oehmke. A 1998 report conducted by Audience Research & Analysis polled 685 visitors at nine different nightclubs over a 13-night period. They found that the industry's total economic impact was $2.9 billion dollars, generating $800 million in salaries and wages citywide, and creating 27,040 jobs. New York City and State earn $109 million and $110 million respectively in tax revenue from the nightlife industry.

These issues were discussed at the first NYCLNC meeting, held last month at Baktun, with an SRO crowd of industry bigwigs such as Giant Step co-owner Jonathan Rudnick, HX magazine head Marc Berkley, and Centro-Fly club owner Tom Sisk.

Graham Boyd of the American Civil Liberties Union, Will Patterson of the Electronic Music Defense & Education Fund, and several members of the San Francisco Late Night Coalition (SFLNC) gave the New Yorkers some pointers. SFNLC was successful in its fight to keep open San Francisco's two biggest clubs, 1015 Folsom and the End Up.

"You have to get out of the underground. People don't know who we are, so they get away with representing us as stupid, drug-addicted kids who don't contribute to society," said SFLNC's Leslie Ayres. "We are not active in politics; we are not out there in the media. We've been insulated and we have to stop doing that."

While the NYCLNC meetings are invitation-only affairs, Mishpucha's event two weeks ago at Makor was well publicized. An excerpt of Juli Berg and Candace Corelli's documentary No Dancing Allowed kicked off a panel debate about the cabaret law, featuring Norman Siegel, former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, currently running for public advocate; Robert Pritchard of the Dance Liberation Front; and Robert Bookman and David Rabin of the NY Nightlife Association, among others.

The panel drew 200 people, and served for many in the audience as an introduction to the cabaret law created in 1926 to regulate jazz clubs and speakeasies. "The police raid is often the first time [bar owners] ever heard of this thing," said Shore.

The law requires that any music establishments selling liquor and food be licensed for more than three people moving rhythmically. Its enforcement has resulted in the padlocking of numerous businesses, and was the tool by which the city finally shut down Twilo after several prior unsuccessful attempts using the Nuisance Abatement Law. Shore points out that there are 5000 liquor licenses in the five boroughs but less than 300 are cabarets; in 1960, there were 12,000 cabaret licenses.

While the Mishpucha event focused on the cabaret law and possible First Amendment-related issues, the NYCLNC, headed for the moment by Oehmke‹a former journalist who's written for The New York Times and who was working at Twilo in its final months‹is choosing to focus on health and safety issues.

There's at least one politician who's listening. City Council candidate Alan Gerson has a jump start on his opponents: Last Thursday he held a fundraiser called "Dance on the Water," held on the Yankee Ferry and featuring DJ Jeannie Hopper. Gerson's made the cabaret law a part of his platform. "The city should regulate noise level and safety, not dance," said Gerson. "At best, the current scheme is an indirect way of getting at legitimate concerns; at worst, it's an infringement of a form of expression."

[School of Visual Arts]

From NEW YORK PRESS (http://www.nypress.com)
August 22-28, 2001

No Dancing Allowed: Protesting The City's Cabaret Laws Cabaret Laws Outlawing Nightlife
By Eva Neuberg

"Twilo was like a home for me," said Melissa a neatly coiffed brunette in a modish black-and-white striped top. "And Mother, I've gained 15 pounds since they closed down."

Melissa was one of some 200 people gathered at Makor on W. 67th St. to talk about dancing and New York City's cabaret laws. The event (produced by "not-for-profit music community" Mishpucha) was sold out, the room was filled with nervous energy. Some people wore shirts that read DANCER. The crowd ranged from early 20s to 50ish and up - everyone from slick entrepreneurs to a legalize-marijuana guy to a woman from a group harassed for doing the rhumba in Central Park to the owner of imminently closing Wetlands to a Health Dept. worker (attending as a civilian).

After a segment from a documentary-in-progress about the laws called "No Dancing Allowed", New York's Ethan Brown moderated the panel, which included an aggressively running-for-office Norman Siegel, New York Nightlife Association attorney Robert Bookman and reps from Lotus, Baktun, Body & Soul, the Dance Liberation Front and some well-known DJs. It soon became clear that there's a combination of factors making it so hard to promote dancing in this city that, as Baktun's Philip Rodriguez put it, "after 14 years, I'm ready to say, 'I'm out of here'." Attorney Bookman said as far as he was concerned, neither the relevant laws nor the number of people going out had changed much over the last 20 years. "So what has changed? Commercial areas becoming residential. It's about real estate and what's going on real estate in Manhattan - you always have to follow the dollars."

New York's cabaret laws began in the 1920s, during Prohibition, and historically were even more restrictive than they are now. Defining a cabaret as any place with music entertainment that also sold food or drink, the laws at various times limited the kinds of music that could be played and, infamously, required ID cards and fingerprinting for everyone who officially worked in a "cabaret." Through lawsuits and relatively more enlightened city officials, they were chipped away at over the years until now, when pretty much the only thing a cabaret license gets you is the ability to have dancing at your nightspot. This is why you may have been told not to dance at, say, Lakeside Lounge or Brownies or Fun - they don't have cabaret licenses.

Panel organizers say there are now only 296 venues with cabaret licenses in all five boroughs, down from 12,000 in 1961. Some people at Makor felt that the way the law's been enforced in recent years, rather than the law itself, is the problem. David Rabin, owner of Lotus, said a dozen-plus officials might enter his club with flashlights at prime operating hours, ostensibly to see the venue's permits, which, as he put it, "are the same at 5 in the afternoon as they are at 11 at night." With the multitude of city agencies regulating nightclubs - Consumer Affairs, Fire Dept., Buildings Dept., Police Dept., etc. - Lotus might get "visited" on a weekly basis. Baktun's Rodriguez said there was a 16-month lag between when he had all that's supposedly required for a license - sprinklers, exits, inspections all in order - and when he received the coveted piece of paper. "I'd like to single out the Buildings Dept.," he said bitterly. "The IRS and the INS are simple in comparison." A man in the crowd told of paying $3000 to get keys to the new locks placed on his venue by authorities after only a second offense.

For others, the main problem was the restrictive nature of the law itself. "It's an offense to my dignity, to my civil rights, that the government is telling me I can't do this," said Dance Liberation Front's Robert Pritchard, making some wiggly motions in his chair. Some focused on the racialized enforcement of the law, which historians say was originally rooted in a fear of race-mixing. "I can't tell you how many clients tell me authorities have taken them aside and said, 'I'll deny I said this, but if you lose the hiphop night or the salsa night, you won't see us here again,'" said Bookman. Then there's the drug issue, with law enforcements targeting clubs in their attempts to rid us of the scourge of ecstasy.

Toward the end of the discussion, before people ventured downstairs to check out Nicky Siano deejaying or vanished into the sweltering night, a Swiss man sporting dyed purple hair and leopard-print, pointy-toed shoes spoke up. "I don't understand how we can have all this discussion and back-and-forth about changing one little law," he said. "My nation was once considered very conservative, but now you can smoke pot there, you can keep your restaurant open as long as you want and society has not collapsed. What about the big picture?"

The big picture is as cosmopolitan and wild this city can sometimes seem - or has seemed in the past - it's part of our puritanical American nation. In recent years it's led that nation, with other towns and cities across the country taking up the "quality of life" mantra. But "quality of life" seems to mean "down with freaks," including, apparently, those who like to dance.

[sammyrock]

David,that means if they change the law,I can finally walk down Manhattan butt-naked with grape-jelly and vanilla ice,riding my roller-skates down the Ave........????LOL LOL LOL :D

[mdpm99]

Originally posted by sammyrock:
David,that means if they change the law,I can finally walk down Manhattan butt-naked with grape-jelly and vanilla ice,riding my roller-skates down the Ave........????LOL LOL LOL :D Greetings sammyrock:

Sounds like a plan to me!

smile.gif

d

[School of Visual Arts]

Originally posted by david mancuso:
Greetings ethnotronica:

Much graemlins/respekt.gif to you, ethnotronica, for taking the time out to share with everyone the info you have been posting.

graemlins/thumbsup.gif

d Much graemlins/respekt.gif to you David Mancuso for laying the foundation for what is now considered a "musical genre and playing style" - LOFT CLASSICS / LOFT STYLE DJing.

We are honored to be recognized by you for sharing what we feel is SO important to ALL of us interested in the survival of dance culture in NYC.

Looking forward to meeting you on Tuesday.

[ June 22, 2003, 10:36 AM: Message edited by: ethnotronica ]

[School of Visual Arts]

graemlins/thumbsup.gif

[ June 22, 2003, 10:38 AM: Message edited by: ethnotronica ]

[mdpm99]

Originally posted by liL Ray:
If you love to party in NYC, or throw parties, or just hate red tape, you must be here and mobilize many more to be here in support.... graemlins/thumbsup.gif

d

[School of Visual Arts]

...is anybody from DHP stepping to the plate on Tuesday?

[The Donger]

"Other exceptions to the law are private organizations/clubs/societies, any religious, charitable, elemosynary or educational corporation or institution..."

Sounds like Loft Inc. can be an educational institution ;)

DJ/Promoters may want to find out a way to register yourselves under these headings if the shit hits the fan. Clubs and societies may be reasonable.

The Dance Music Preservation Society, hahahaha....

[Bill Blake]

The real question is does the city have the right to 'regulate dancing' in the first place?

[The Donger]

Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
The real question is does the city have the right to 'regulate dancing' in the first place? me no thinks so.

[Bill Blake]

Originally posted by Ghost Of Donger:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
The real question is does the city have the right to 'regulate dancing' in the first place? me no thinks so. </font>[/QUOTE]What you think doesnt matter.

[The Donger]

Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ghost Of Donger:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
The real question is does the city have the right to 'regulate dancing' in the first place? me no thinks so. </font>[/QUOTE]What you think doesnt matter. </font>[/QUOTE]fine.

[Bill Blake]

Originally posted by Ghost Of Donger:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ghost Of Donger:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
The real question is does the city have the right to 'regulate dancing' in the first place? me no thinks so. </font>[/QUOTE]What you think doesnt matter. </font>[/QUOTE]fine. </font>[/QUOTE]A Crash Course in Cabarets
by Tricia Romano
November 27 - December 3, 2002

1926 The cabaret law is created to crack down on multiracial Harlem jazz clubs. "Most of the jazz in 1926 was being played in clubs in Harlem where there were mixed groups. And a lot of people considered jazz to be a mongrelized, degenerate music," says Paul Chevigny, author of Gigs: Jazz and the Cabaret Laws in New York City. The law defines a cabaret as "any room, place or space in the city in which any musical entertainment, singing, dancing or other form of amusement is permitted in connection with . . . selling to the public food or drink, except eating or drinking places, which provide incidental musical entertainment, without dancing, either by mechanical devices, or by not more than three persons." In other words, a venue can't have dancing without a license.

1961 The law requires that cabarets only be permitted in manufacturing and commercial zones like the meatpacking district.

1967 The law is amended to remove the requirement that musicians playing in clubs "be of good character."

1978 The law requires that sprinkler systems be installed in clubs seating more than 75 people.

1986 Chevigny wins a case on behalf of the musicians' union (Chiasson v. New York City Department of Consumer Affairs). State Supreme Court Justice David Saxe strikes the three-musician limitation, which he says "nearly eliminated certain types of music, such as Dixieland and bluegrass music [and] also had a negative impact on jazz."

1989 The city tightens zoning restrictions as commercial zones become gentrified. With the exception of grandfathered spaces, areas that were previously considered as-of-right—Tribeca, Soho, and the flatiron district—are judged to be off-limits for cabarets.

2002 While there are 4811 liquor licenses in Manhattan, only 276 are licensed cabarets—down from 12,000 in 1961—with an additional 40 venues up for renewal.

[School of Visual Arts]

Excerpts from:
You Can't Dance if You Want To
The Safety Dance
by Tricia Romano/Village Voice
November 27 - December 3, 2002

http://images.villagevoice.com/issues/0248/rom1.jpg
Free your hind: Shelter is one of 316 places in NYC where you can legally dance.
(photo: Staci Schwartz)

In the winter of 1999, a small army of cops, firefighters, and inspectors descended unannounced on the Cooler, the now defunct meatpacking district club. They weren't looking for drugs or underage drinkers. They were looking for people dancing.

Unbeknownst to the squad of officers, a doorman had flipped a switch alerting the sound tech via a flashing light that the cops had arrived. The sound tech quickly killed the booming drum'n'bass and piped country music through the speakers.

So when the cops sauntered into the Cooler looking to bust people for busting a move, the drum'n'bass fans in attendance did exactly as planned: They stood perfectly still.

Three years later, the cabaret law is still in effect, and it is rumored that at least one East Village bar still performs a similar ruse—originally employed by gay bars in the '40s—to escape the dance police. With a recent rash of raids on Bleecker Street bars by the Bloomberg administration—some of which resulted in the padlocking of venues—club owners have every reason to worry. Mayor Mike isn't turning out to be the beacon of light that clubland expected.

Activists are trying to do something, anything, to overturn or change an archaic 1926 law licensing dancing that the Giuliani administration—and now the Bloomberg administration—have used to combat quality-of-life complaints and troublesome clubs.

But the nightlife industry's sole voice, the New York Nightlife Association (NYNA), the only organization that has any real power with community boards, City Council members, and other politicians, is not in favor of repealing the law.

Its president, David Rabin—who is also an owner of Lotus—sparked a minor fury last month among bar owners when he reiterated his stance at a dance convention and again in the New York Post that dancing should remain regulated, with exceptions to allow for incidental dancing. He angrily pointed his fingers at other venues, Pangaea, Serafina, and Rehab—all of them his direct competition—for operating without cabaret licenses.

Rabin's "big mouth" (his words) also may have inadvertently sparked a renewed campaign against nightlife by the city. At least one of the spots named by Rabin—Serafina on Lafayette Street—may have gotten a visit as a direct result of his outbursts. The restaurant had been having Wednesday-night parties and had already incurred one catering violation, says Gretchen Dykstra, the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the city agency charged with handling cabaret licenses.

Dykstra says she is aware of Rabin's complaints and says of the other establishments he named: "We are typing up all of that." Of Serafina, she says, "It's not surprising for someone to get padlocked if they continue to blatantly thumb their nose at the law."

Rabin feels bad, sort of. "I feel badly for some of the employees who may not be making as much money this week, but I don't feel badly for a guy who was deliberately violating the law," he says.

One club owner who runs an unlicensed cabaret even called him to thank him for not sending the cops his way. "I started laughing. I don't have a bat phone saying 'Illegal dancing on 24th Street!' " says Rabin incredulously. "Believe me, I have no influence over the mayor's office whatsoever."

He is most upset about bait-and-switch operations like Serafina that have allegedly presented themselves as restaurants or lounges, only to become full-fledged nightclubs, replete with long lines and rowdy patrons. Such deceit ruins it for the rest of the industry. "Because they [owners] have lied about what they are going to do, they [community boards] are going to assume you are lying also," says Rabin.

But others point out that Giuliani effectively created a club cartel by enforcing the cabaret law and say that club owners like Rabin are only interested in protecting their own investments.

Rabin argues that he and other club owners have—in some cases—poured millions of dollars into spaces that are zoned for a cabaret, and to allow a free-for-all is unfair: "The immediate eradication of the cabaret laws would be the same as if the city overnight announced that there was no longer a ceiling on the number of taxi medallions," he wrote in one of several lengthy e-mails to me. "Can you imagine the outrage from people who had invested their life savings in a medallion only to find it rendered worthless in one fell swoop?"

And, he says, he did everything fair and square. So should everyone else. "The process exists, we didn't put it there, but if we follow it and raise money and work hard because we know that at least we have a built-in and protected niche, then others should have to play by the same rules," he says.

While his detractors—and there are many of them—understand Rabin's business concerns and empathize with the potential loss of money, they don't feel it is pertinent to the discussion.

Shawn Schwartz, co-owner of the Brooklyn café Halcyon, and a member of NYNA, takes issue with Rabin and the association's stance: "Those that have a cabaret have struggled and done what they had to do with bad circumstances. I applaud them for their struggle, but it doesn't mean they should turn around on the other side and maintain an unjust system because they were able to survive it."

Read the rest of this article HERE (http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0248/romano.php)

[Bill Blake]

2002 While there are 4811 liquor licenses in Manhattan, only 276 are licensed cabarets—down from 12,000 in 1961—with an additional 40 venues up for renewal.

[mattymatt]

this is from the ny times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/nyregion/24CLUB.html
After 77 Years, Cabaret Laws Face Rewrite
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

The Bloomberg administration is poised to rewrite the city's nearly 80-year-old cabaret laws, which regulate all bars and restaurants where revelers dance. The laws, which were used by the Giuliani administration to punish nightclubs and bars where under-age drinking, drug dealing and other crimes were prevalent, have been a source of controversy for years.

But there is dissent within the Bloomberg administration about how to change the law. Some in the administration favor a more broad-based license that would be required for all establishments that are open into the early morning hours. Other officials fear such a license would further alienate nightclub and restaurant owners, who have already been hit with an indoor smoking ban and sidewalk cafe legislation this year, a view that is shared by some club owners and nightlife enthusiasts.

"We have been told that they won't regulate dancing anymore," said Adam Shore, a co-founder of Legalize Dancing NYC, a group that has been lobbying to eliminate the cabaret laws. But he said he worries that the city will replace the laws with other regulations that also will hurt the nightlife industry.

A public hearing will be held today in Lower Manhattan, where elected officials, nightclub and restaurants owners, and other experts are expected to testify and offer proposed changes to the law.

It is illegal under current law to operate a cabaret in New York City without a two-year license, which costs $600 to $1,000, based on capacity. Those places that hold a license are closely monitored by various city agencies. Only 332 establishments have the license.

There seems to be a general agreement that the law, which was promulgated in 1926, needs to go.

"We don't think the city's existing cabaret laws adequately address the problems affecting communities and nightlife establishments," said Gretchen Dykstra, the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, "but we need to document the range of the problem."

Many bar and restaurants owners have argued that the law is archaic and too punitive, in part because it has resulted in the closing of neighborhood bars without cabaret licenses where patrons have been caught dancing around a jukebox.

Many nightclub owners, tourists and night life enthusiasts have wondered why New York City needs a law for dancing at all, and some have complained that the city uses the law as a tool to shut down clubs.

Community groups and others have argued that while the laws may need changing, the city must maintain some form of regulatory system. Some of those groups fear the proliferation of loud bars and restaurants that disturb neighboring residents. As it stands, one requirement for getting a cabaret license is that a bar or restaurant be in an area zoned for such establishments.

Some community groups say that dancing is not the problem and that the state should get tougher with places that violate the law by removing their liquor licenses.

"Patrons dancing in and of itself is not what is bothering people," said Anthony Borrelli, the district manager of Community Board 4 in Manhattan. "We are primarily concerned with minimizing disturbances outside nightlife establishments. Enforcement is a big issue for us. If new laws are created that will make enforcement easier, that has potential."

The laws have also pit establishments that go through the effort, expense and scrutiny that getting a license entails against those bars and restaurants that do not seek a license and permit dancing anyway.

So far this year, the city has padlocked 11 places that featured dancing without a license; between 1999 and 2003, the city closed 20. The Giuliani administration tended to remove or threaten places that held licenses as punishment for a range of violations, from inadequate exits to drug use by patrons.

Ms. Dykstra has told colleagues she is most intrigued with the idea of a new license that would apply to a broad base of nightlife places — such as those open after a certain hour.

But some officials say that even if such a law makes it easier for some businesses to offer dancing and live performances, a new regulation could also backfire against the administration, which has taken heat for its tough anti-smoking regulations and for raising a variety of fees around the city to help balance the budget. "I don't know in this economic environment that we need yet another regulation," one city official said. "I don't want to do anything that could be viewed as another impediment to business."

The New York Nightlife Association maintains that, even without the cabaret laws, dance clubs will still be regulated and limited by the zoning laws, building and fire codes, and the Health Department. "Our concern is not so much the eradication of a cabaret law as we are with a vast expansion of regulatory power by the Department of Consumer Affairs," said David Rabin, president of the association. "Nightlife as we see is suffering left and right."

Some club owners are concerned that restaurants that have not had dancing in the past might not have the type of safety systems that many night clubs have.

Ms. Dykstra, who said in an interview that regulating clubs by their hours of operation was "interesting," also insisted that the administration wanted to hear ideas from a plethora of parties before drawing any conclusions. "I am keenly aware that we don't want to over-regulate," she said. "We have to think of it as a matrix: where is the overlap between hours and location and is there anyway we can draw conclusion?"

The Bloomberg administration could put together a bill sometime this year, and submit it to the City Council, which will inevitably hold its own series of hearings before settling on any changes to the law.

[liL Ray]

I'm gonna try and be there...got to leave work early....Raven, are there any organized meet up taking place and what are we being asked to do?

[mdpm99]

I am going to try to get there 'round 16:00 hours.

d

[School of Visual Arts]

THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CITY'S CABARET LAWS IS TODAY

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) announces a public hearing on the City's cabaret laws. The City must find a balance between preserving neighborhood quality-of-life and ensuring a lively cultural scene. The existing regulatory scheme governing cabarets is antiquated and unworkable, not addressing community concerns about key health and safety issues while posing a burden on good nightlife establishments. DCA seeks input from communities, businesses, elected officials and experts on questions that need answers before new laws are proposed.

TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2003
2:30PM - 9:00PM

New York Law School, Stiefel Reading Room
57 Worth Street (between Church St. and West Broadway), Manhattan
*Wheelchair access is at 243 Church St.

Moderators:
Gretchen Dykstra, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs
John Feinblatt, NYC Criminal Justice Coordinator
Jonathan Greenspun, Commissioner of the NYC Community Assistance Unit

2:30PM - 7:00PM: Panel Presentations on effective regulation of nightlife establishments Panelists include technology experts, club owners, community members, business leaders, & elected officials.

7:30PM - 9:00PM: Public Comment. There will be a two-minute limit per person.
THIS IS WHEN YOUR VOICE CAN BE HEARD.
THERE WILL BE ALOT OF PEOPLE READY TO SPEAK
IF YOU WANT YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD,
WE SUGGEST YOU ATTEND.

Some questions to be addressed:

Should DCA do something about the cabaret laws?

What criteria should DCA use to determine who should get a license?

Similar to other cities, should DCA consider licensing establishments open after a certain time? If so, what time, where, and for which types of places?

Should DCA regulate not-for-profit venues that may rent their space for nightlife events?

Should the City consider temporary permits for these venues?

What should DCA do when a nightlife establishment violates the regulations?

For more information or a full set of questions to be addressed, please visit DCA online HERE (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/cabaret_questions.html)

[School of Visual Arts]

AGENDA

DCA PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CABARET LAWS
June 24, 2003
New York Law School
57 Worth Street, Manhattan

2:30-3:30: Technical People Respond

Jason Swan (Cerami and Associates)
Neil Garelick (Excel Security)
Ira Holm (R.S.I Restaurant and Tavern Insurance)
Ethel Sheffer (chair, NYC chapter of American Planning Association)

3:30-5:00: Cabaret Owners and Their Representatives Respond

Jim Capalino
David Rabin (Lotus)
Norman Siegal
Jimmy Rodriquez (Jimmy's Uptown)
Douglas Ballinger (Webster Hall)
Shawn Schwartz (Halcyon)

5:00-6:00: Other Businesses Respond

Doug Griebel (NYC Restaurant Association)
Chamber of Commerce Alliance Representative (TBD)
Joe Cozza ( Hotel Association)
Scott Wexler (Empire State Tavern Association)
Louis Nunez (Latino Restaurant Association)

6:00-7:00: Elected Officials and Community Boards Respond

Alan Gerson*
Leroy Comrie*
Anthony Borrelli (CB4M)
Gerald Esposito (CB1Bklyn)
Gregoria Feliciano (CB12M)

*Not confirmed 7:00-7:30: Break

7:30-9:00 Public Comment

[liL Ray]

I have someplace I have to be at 8pm, so I'll try and get there by 4pm

[mdpm99]

Originally posted by liL Ray:
I have someplace I have to be at 8pm, so I'll try and get there by 4pm smile.gif

d

[Moksha]

I wonder what the venues that have already spent the time, $$$ and energy into getting licensed will say about possibly rescinding the law. They'll be PISSED if their competitors don't have to go through the same arduous process they had to.

[Bill Blake]

**** I just got to work (poison ivy).

Not going to be able to make it *sad face*

[mdpm99]

Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
**** I just got to work (poison ivy).

Not going to be able to make it *sad face* Greetings Jamie:

You will be there in spirit....

smile.gif *happy face*

d

[Bill Blake]

Originally posted by david mancuso:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
**** I just got to work (poison ivy).

Not going to be able to make it *sad face* Greetings Jamie:

You will be there in spirit....

smile.gif *happy face*

d </font>[/QUOTE]Ask them if I can get a cabaret license for DEEZ NUTZ

[The Blues People]

This is very important!! If I was in town I would with out a doubt be there. All of thoes that can go please go and represent. We AR15firing.gif have to keep on top of these types of issues before we have no power what so ever. This will have a snowball effect on cities along with the music itself.

Respect

Ron Trent

[School of Visual Arts]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
=============================
LEGALIZE DANCING NYC TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE PROPOSED REFORMS TO NEW YORK CITY'S ARCHAIC CABARET LAW
Tuesday June 24 at 7pm
New York Law School,
outside Stiefel Reading Room
57 Worth St. (btw Broadway and Church St.)

On Tuesday, June 24, advocacy group Legalize Dancing NYC will hold a press conference to express its views on the proposed reforms to the Cabaret Law, and to tell the story of the struggle leading up to this historic moment. Following a day of panels on the law, LDNYC will gather outside the meeting room at 7pm (during the break preceding the public hearing) to answer questions *and dance.

An asterisk is about to be deleted from New York's position as the greatest city in the world. If all goes according to plan, New York City will soon remove the act of dancing from an oppressive regulatory process enacted in 1926 that has made it essentially illegal to dance in the cultural capital of the world for three quarters of a century.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of its dance-loving citizens, organized by Legalize Dancing NYC, New York will be liberated from the dance police, which have fined, padlocked and shut down small businesses simply because they have allowed patrons to dance without possessing the infamous Cabaret License. In addition to harming local businesses that rely on the music-loving public, the Cabaret Law has put a damper on the city¹s economy and cultural vibrancy, limited its citizens¹ freedom of expression and movement, and embarrassed New York to visitors from all over the world.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, the city agency that administers and enforces the Cabaret Law, has said that dancing will no longer be a factor in its regulation of nightlife, and that the purpose of its public hearing June 24, will be to define new ³triggers² for identifying and enforcing nightlife issues. As LDNYC has stated since it formed more than three years ago, we encourage the city to work with nightlife businesses, the community, and the dancing public to find an alternative to the current situation that is acceptable to all parties. Naturally, LDNYC will continue to observe and
participate in this reform process.

For the last 77 years, New Yorkers have had ants in our pants because we need to dance, and that day is soon approaching.

The press conference will be held Tuesday, June 24 @ 7:00pm New York Law School, outside Stiefel Reading Room 57 Worth St. (btw Broadway and Church St.)

For more information about Legalize Dancing NYC: http://www.legalizedancingnyc.com
Eric Demby: ericdemby@yahoo.com; 917.579.7435
Adam Shore: adam@vice-recordings.com; 917.513.3452
Andy Gensler: nycandyg@aol.com; 917.686.5224

[mdpm99]

Greetings:

Just returned after sitting through 2 1/2 different committee meetings.

Sad to say that for the most part it was a bit of sham.

There were a few people on the panel (3 in total out of all of the speakers) that seemed sensitive to the issue(s).

I could not stay past 6:30, but a few friends of mine (reinforcements) will attend when the public will be able to speak + they will take notes.

Thank G*d liL Ray and Leslie were there or else I would have gotten depressed.

Anyway I am sure they will give you their own independent view regarding their observations.

graemlins/cool_shades.gif

d

[ June 24, 2003, 06:14 PM: Message edited by: david mancuso ]

[The Buddy Love Show]

Dave

as with the Bold Soul event and other things i WANT to attend the kids had my time today....
any hopeful signs presented?

[imported_Gman]

^