Down Days of Nightlife in New York(AM NY Article )

[danceshake01]

http://www.amny.com/media/acrobat/2007-10/23136028.pdf

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2007 Today’s clubs

lack luster

of years past LOCAL QUOTE:‘NIGHTLIFE IS A COMMODITY NOW.’ — Sydney Masters, clubgoer since 1985

By Justin Rocket Silverman

jsilverman@am-ny.com

Long gone are the days

when clubs such as Studio

54, Palladium and Limelight

were institutions that

captured the essence of their

time and defined New York

City nightlife. The era of the

big dance clubs that had

universal appeal is fading,

replaced by predominately

smaller venues targeting

specific groups of clientele.

There is a sense that money

has won out over creativity;

rules about dancing,

smoking and security cameras

have trumped personal

freedom; and that the night

now belongs to a starchedcollar

crowd that prefers

dropping $400 on a bottle of

vodka over supporting anything

weird or edgy.

“There are a lot of reasons

why the days of Studio 54

and other great clubs of the

’70s are not here anymore,â€

said David

Rabin, the owner of

Lotus and president

of the New York

Nightlife Association,

a trade

group. “For one

thing, crowds

have become much more

self-separating. When I first

started gong out in the late

’70s and early ’80s, everyone

was under the same

roof. Straight, gay, black,

white, male, female — it

was awesome.â€

Opinions vary on why

clubland has lost its diversity.

Cost is certainly a factor.

Gone are the days when

everybody paid $5 to get

into Nell’s on 14th Street

(now called The Plumm).

There was no bottle service,

or other ways to buy yourself

into the legendary club

Area, a massive space complete

with a swimming

pool, skateboard ramp and

tank stocked with live

sharks. If you impressed the

doorman with your style,

you got in. Otherwise,

you’d be standing outside

all night.

One venue from the

heydays of clubbing

that hasn’t lost its

popularity is Webster

Hall, which is in the

process of being landmarked

by the city.

But most other mega-clubs

are instead being replaced

by smaller lounges.

“In the ’80s and ’90s,

there was big group of people

who helped each other

and made it interesting,â€

said Sydney Masters, a clubber

since 1985. “Those same

people have since learned to

make a business of it, and a

lot have opened smaller

clubs. Nightlife is a commodity

now.â€

Yet even the most wellfinanced

nightclubs were

thrown a curve ball in September

when high-end burlesque

operator Ivan Kane

was denied, by unanimous

vote, his request for approval

of a liquor license by

the local community board.

Kane’s investors included

David Bowie and Sting, and

the defeat could have a cooling

effect on investment industry-

wide.

While such community

votes used to be routinely ignored

by the State Liquor

Authority, within the past

year they inexplicably began

to be the determining

factor of whether a new club

is allowed to sell booze. The

shift to more community

input is something

that has the potential

to deter nightclub

owners from

opening larger venues

in New York City, industry

heads say.

“Our establishments

were never designed

simply to serve the

1.2 million residents of

Manhattan,†said Robert

Bookman, chief counsel for

the nightlife association,

who explained that with 65

million admissions annually,

more people come to the

city for its clubs than they

do for every Broadway

show and professional

sporting event combined.

“We can’t expect entrepreneurs

to put millions

into new places in New

York if it is a popularity contest

with people living a

block away,†he said.

A different kind of party in NYC

■ Studio 54, 1986

■ Paradise Garage, 1987

■ The Sound Factory 27th ST, 1995

■ Tunnel, 1996

■ Limelight (original), 1996

■ Twilo, 2001

■ CBGB, 2006

■ Avalon, 2006

■ Club Deep, 2006

■ Spirit, 2006

— Victoria McLaughlin

Closing time

■ Michael Musto,

longtime nightlife/gossip writer:

Every trend has a counter trend.

Nightlife itself is a response to oppression.

The more you push it down, the

more it bounces back. I’m predicting a

major explosion of great nightlife,

though it might not be until 2013. So

stick around!

■ Murray Hill,

downtown entertainer:

The city is out of control, and nightlife is

becoming a hobby for the upper-class.

As an entertainer, I like to perform to all

Clubs were more diverse in the

’70s and ’80s, says David

Rabin, president of the New

York Nightlife Association.

More city regulations and expensive bottle service are among the reasons clubs’ originality has faded. (Photos: Dennis W. Ho)

What do you think of nightlife in the city?

Today’s clubs

lack luster

of years past

.com NY

■Video

■ Photos

Editor: Ryan Chatelain (ryan.chatelain@am-ny.com)

kinds of people, and that’s what makes

this city great. I will always provide my

fans and the city with middle-class

entertainment.

■ Justin Carter,

music director at the club APT:

As long as there are new people coming

into the city, trying to fill voids where

they exist, there is going to be good

nightlife in New York. Depending on the

law and the economic constraints, interesting

things can either thrive openly or

go underground. People are always

going to figure out a way to go out and

have fun here.