Jump to content
Clubplanet Nightlife Community

closed clubs


purt

Recommended Posts

I haven't researched this question because I'm lazy and I figure it will be easier to ask on here, so it's probably sounds stupid. Why did twilo and limelight and other clubs shut down and how is it related to Giulliani?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

limelights not closed as far as i know...

twilo closed cuz their caberet license didn't get renewed... (that's the offical statement)... unofficially, they closed just cuz Giuliani was bored and wanted to do something... also cuz middle class white kids were dying b/c they were doing drugs they had no place doing....

politics...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I'm no expert but here's what I can gather:

The city (led by Guiliani) has launched an aggressive campaign against what it has characterized as the drug-filled New York underground, which primarily means dance clubs that lie outside the mainstream. As a tactic to close down these club, the city has resurrected caberet laws put into place in the 1920 during the Jazz age and prohibition. These laws are inherently racist, designed to further marginalize blacks from mainstream manhattan by closing down Jazz clubs in Harlem. The laws include the "no dancing" rule which (and I'm not certain on this) makes it illegal to dance in certain establishments (I noted a "please refrain from dancing" sign at La Leche this past Friday...).

Anyway, some would argue that the city's "crackdown" on clubs has more to do with maintaining the real estate values of surrounding neighborhoods than with concern over drug use. Also, as maximan pointed out, there have been several overdoses of rich white suburbanites, including a pre-med student at Twilo, which drew a lot of attention from rich white Manhattanites who have a lot more lobbying power than the average clubber. Of course, these overdoses were primarily caused by dehydration or by a preexisting medical condition (the student at Twilo apparently had a heart condition that was exhaserbated by three pills, no water and six hours of non-stop dancing).

There's a documentary coming out called "No Dancing Allowed" which explains all of this much better than I am. Also the Metro Channel (16) has been running a panel discussion about the topic.

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by maximman

limelights not closed as far as i know...

twilo closed cuz their caberet license didn't get renewed... (that's the offical statement)... unofficially, they closed just cuz Giuliani was bored and wanted to do something... also cuz middle class white kids were dying b/c they were doing drugs they had no place doing....

politics...

Agree:bounce:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by pkern

Well, I'm no expert but here's what I can gather:

The city (led by Guiliani) has launched an aggressive campaign against what it has characterized as the drug-filled New York underground, which primarily means dance clubs that lie outside the mainstream. As a tactic to close down these club, the city has resurrected caberet laws put into place in the 1920 during the Jazz age and prohibition. These laws are inherently racist, designed to further marginalize blacks from mainstream manhattan by closing down Jazz clubs in Harlem. The laws include the "no dancing" rule which (and I'm not certain on this) makes it illegal to dance in certain establishments (I noted a "please refrain from dancing" sign at La Leche this past Friday...).

Anyway, some would argue that the city's "crackdown" on clubs has more to do with maintaining the real estate values of surrounding neighborhoods than with concern over drug use. Also, as maximan pointed out, there have been several overdoses of rich white suburbanites, including a pre-med student at Twilo, which drew a lot of attention from rich white Manhattanites who have a lot more lobbying power than the average clubber. Of course, these overdoses were primarily caused by dehydration or by a preexisting medical condition (the student at Twilo apparently had a heart condition that was exhaserbated by three pills, no water and six hours of non-stop dancing).

There's a documentary coming out called "No Dancing Allowed" which explains all of this much better than I am. Also the Metro Channel (16) has been running a panel discussion about the topic.

:D

Bingo! Hit it right on the head. I saw the same thing happen from where I'm from in Central Florida. . .

Orlando is the Heroin death capital of the United States, I mean, people were dropping like flies back in 1995 and 1996 but the city didn't take notice of it. . You wanna know why? Because all the people who were dying were either A) Minorities or B) white trash (I hate to use the term, but I can think of no better. . .)

Nobody took notice of the problem because the city leadership considered the problem to be constrained to "those" people (I'm sure many of you have heard people from our parents generation use that term . .). Then in 1996 all that changed. . . One incident lead to the death of the entire scene. . . One fucking incident perpetrated by two STUPID fucking kids from the area (I happened to know them, although not as friends . . .).

Two kids from Dr. Phillips High School, a school from a more well heeled area down there decided that they were gonna celebrate their graduation by renting 2 rooms at the Knights Inn in Maitland (a town north of the city) and speed ball. . . So these two kids drive down to the Hills (a not so nice part of town. .) Score some H and C and get a room. . .2 hours later their friends found them dead, one with the needle in his arm. . The coroners report said that the first kid had enough Coke in him that they were amazed his heart didn't explode in his chest, and, ironically, it (the coke) gave him an extra 20 minutes of life because it counteracted the Hot dose of Tek that they had gotten. . which killed the other kid almost instantly. .

Now, here's the important part. . .These two kids were the Valadictorian and Saludatorian of the schools graduating class. . As soon as the news and the University Club (Think Tammany Hall when city bosses ran new york) got a hold of it they went nutz. . And when the Christian right chimed in with their "outrage" that all these innocent white children were dying from the "scourge" of the "rave" scene, you can guess what happened. . Everyone out by 2.

The sickest part of it was Disney was still able to operate until all hours of the morning because the city didn't want to fuck with them. . Disney eventually complied with the ordinance, but only after local establishment owners practically threatened to firebomb the city if the Commission didn't make them obey . .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep your eyes on dancethevote.org (it'll be back up soon) for information on events to help change laws/keep nightlife alive and kickin' in NY as well as articles about the cabaret laws in NY and there are also ocassionally panel discussions that could educate you about the issues and legalities as well as the opinions/concerns from a more civil perspective.

The Cabaret laws themselves and how/why Twilo shut its doors are related but also different issues.

There are things everyone can do to help keep NY city nightlife alive and kicking. These include personal things as well as more public and civil service oriented.

One of the best things we can do as a community in this city is prove that the dance music culture is just that, a culture. And we're all not simply the stereotypes that we're portrayed as.

Also...VOTE next week. Educate yourselves on the candidates and what their platforms are. Don't forget to follow your instincts a bit either. And while nightlife and dance culture are far from the most important thing this city needs to deal with over the next 4 years, its part of a bigger picture....this city as a cultural/diverse mecca which it should always be. Be sure to really look at both candidates, and ask questions.

I don't think that things are as cut and dry as, with Guiliani out of office, clubs will reopen, cabaret laws will be overturned etc. etc. There's a lot more to these laws and closings and near 'witch trials' througout the US than changing one head will fix. Its a process...but one you can get involved in and start, in little ways.

Respect yourselves. Respect the scene that ya love ya know?

FYI, dancethevote had a float this year in the Halloween parade ;)

-Oo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...