In 2017, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law Int 1688, introduced by former Council Member Rafael Espinal, creating the Office of Nightlife ("ONL")and Nightlife Advisory Board ("NAB"). The NAB consists of 14 members appointed by the City Council and Mayor to serve two-year terms. NAB's mandate is to evaluate New York City's (the �City�) laws, rules, regulations, and policies on an ongoing basis and to make findings and recommendations that address common issues and trends in the nightlife industry.
Members of the NAB are volunteers who represent diverse group of stakeholders from nightlife businesses, communities affected by nightlife, the LGBTQ+ community, artists, musicians, experts in sexual violence, and others with experience and expertise in the City's nightlife.
After the first NAB was convened, members developed a structure from which to conduct their work in a comprehensive, fair and efficient manner. To ensure the NAB would be sufficiently informed to develop recommendations, the NAB members undertook a thoughtful and curated approach in which they met in person to deliberate more than a dozen times; participated in additional conference calls and committee meetings; attended relevant events, including the five "Five Borough Townhalls" hosted by the ONL; received in-person presentations from approximately 25 nightlife stakeholder organizations and individuals; and received written comments from the public. In addition, each NAB member shared their own expertise and solicited input from their own stakeholder networks.
This extensive and inclusive approach to fulfilling the statutory mandate allowed the NAB to develop the following recommendations in a constructive manner, enabling the NAB to receive a majority vote of support from NAB members for the collective recommendations. The NAB strongly believes that the manner in which they presented their recommendations provides the most effective framework from which government officials may lay the groundwork to enact laws, rules, policies, and systems that address the many complex issues pertaining to the City's nightlife.
Given the diverse nature of this ever changing city, these recommendations do not address all nightlife matters that are important to all people. As such, the NAB hopes that this work continues to inspire an evolving dialogue about nightlife culture and policy in the City. Nonetheless, the group felt an awesome responsibility to go to great lengths to be inclusive and thoughtful. The NAB members are confident that, if enacted, these recommendations will have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the City's nightlife for a diverse range of affected stakeholders. While the NAB will urge government officials to enact these recommendations immediately, they believe it will be incumbent on future appointed members of NAB to advocate for these recommendations. The NAB members hope that these findings and the operating framework developed will be useful to them in fulfilling their mission.
The City's nightlife is a living, breathing and ever-evolving entity that is vital to our City's cultural fabric and local economy, as it impacts New Yorkers, communities, and visitors in meaningful and unique ways. The undersigned Nightlife Advisory Board members are honored to have been appointed to the first New York City Nightlife Advisory Board and are proud to submit the enclosed recommendations to the Mayor and City Council.
The undersigned thank former Council Member Rafael Espinal for his leadership in creating the Nightlife Advisory Board, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Speaker Corey Johnson, and members of City Council for their support of Int1688, and Mayor Bill de Blasio for signing the bill into law. The NAB thanks the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME)Commissioner Anne del Castillo and former Commissioner Julie Men in, ONL Senior Executive Director Ariel Palitz and their teams for their support and we are forever grateful to all the stakeholders who inspired and informed this work. Long live the night!
