Wednesday, October 25, 2017

A look at some of the Night Mayor candidates


As you may recall from September, Mayor de Blasio announced the formation of the city's Office of Nightlife, where a soon-to-be-appointed Night Mayor will reign.

A quickie recap via DNAnfo:

The new appointee will field complaints and mediate disputes between nightlife establishments and city and state agencies, as well as residents with complaints and concerns.

The administration is in the process of interviewing candidates for the job, which is expected to be filled by the end of the year.

Brooklyn City Councilmember Rafael Espinal sponsored the legislation.

The Observer has more on the search in an article posted yesterday:

Espinal said hundreds of people have applied for the job, including from community boards, the artist community, industry folks and business owners as well as artists who are flame throwers, dancers and musicians. He said he would prefer someone from outside city agencies and the administration.

He noted that the city has seen a 20 percent decrease in the number of music venues over the last 15 years and that that stems from city enforcement and displacement because of real estate.

The Observer looks at a few of the Night Mayor candidates who have emerged.

Candidates include Bronx native Gerard McNamee, the former director of operations for East Village nightclub and concert venue Webster Hall before it was sold to Brooklyn Sports Entertainment in April; Brooklyn resident Brendan Sullivan, a DJ, producer and author; and Matthew Demar, who rapped in the 1990s under the moniker “Kid Panic” and a supporter of President Trump.

Sullivan, 35, who grew up in Connecticut, said his experience includes serving as bartender and head bartender at The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art and deejaying at the Beauty Bar in the East Village for five years. He also worked at Pianos NYC and deejayed at St. Jerome’s, where he met Lady GaGa and eventually became her DJ, touring with her and starring in her first music video.

Sullivan reportedly has already had several interviews with the city.

And...

Demar, 49, who grew up in Westchester, Manhattan and Long Island, has been in the nightclub and restaurant business for more than 30 years. He worked for his first nightclub, the Roxy — which was later renamed 1018 — at the age of 13 hosting high school teen nights, managed his first nightclub at 17 and brought one of the first foam machines to the city from Mexico. He ran clubs such as Coco’s and Mirage Glow.

In the 1990s, he toured the country with Boyz II Men, Big Daddy Kane and MC Lyte. He also developed a nightclub in Utica and owned the Hollyrock nightclubs in Herkimer, Utica and Sylvan Beach.

“I’m the only person — unless I’m wrong — but I think I’m really one of the only people that has entertainment, that has nightclub and hotel experience,” he said.

Demar said that he has not heard from the city. McNamee did not respond to a request for comment from the Observer.

And lastly...

The mayor’s office said many people have applied for the position but that neither the names of candidates nor the number of applicants are public information yet and that the salary likely will be $130,000. Eligibility requirements include at least five years of experience working closely with the nightlife or music industry, with city government regulations governing the nighttime economy or health and public safety and understanding city politics and government structure.

Previously on EV Grieve:
ICYMI — Mayor forms Office of Nightlife (38 comments)

23 comments:

  1. At the recent Town Hall meeting de Blasio said the night life mayor would have NO connection with the night life industry- these candidates sound like anything but that. This is not a good sign for quality of life.

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  2. Excuse me, but I'll determine what 'quality of life' means around here, thank you very much.

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  3. If you run a bar or nightclub you already know the rules about noise control inside and out of your establishment. The city does not need an entertainment insider but an enforcer of these rules which is the only way those of us who live near these places will be able to get a decent night's sleep.

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  4. Isn't this known as putting the fox in charge of the hen house??

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  5. Sleeping is part of the soul of the city, too. When do we get a specialized Mayor for that?

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  6. Oh please, stop whining. Pretty much all nightlife has move to Brooklyn at this point, there's very few places to go out in Manhattan any more.

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  7. Yes! Bureaucratize everything! I've been thinking about how pop music sucks lately. I hope that's one of the mayor's next causes.

    Still can't believe this is real life.

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  8. oh great
    one more bureaucratic layer to make sure nothing happens to improve the quality of life for residents of our city and to insure the health of the bar and club industry that keeps us up all night.
    why bother to have a night mayor. just put the $130K into a pool for bribes.


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  9. No one is entitled to a decent night's sleep. That's not in the Night Mayor's vocab, ya dig? You're entitled to party. Do you know how many people fought, and died, for your right to party? You'll sleep when you're dead. This is NYC, the city that never sleeps! Woooooo!

    Umpta! Umpta! Umpta! Umpta! Umpta! Umpta! Umpta!

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  10. What the 1st commenter said, though the Mayor lies more than the president it seems

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  11. Gee they all sound like they are impartial--don't they?? What about our Rosie Mendez? She's going to need a job come January 1, and she certainly has wide-knowledge about the Lower East Side / East Village problems. She could easily figure out other area's issues and, as she brought to her Council District--she could figure out solutions that help residents. If you don't get my sarcasm I am sorry I'm not good at pretending. I'm still waiting for her to get the PO to put hours of pickup on the box on Broadway and Tenth Street.

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  12. DeBlasio's comments are exactly the reason he will be voted out of office soon. He just doesn't care about the residents of the EV. All he cares about is revenue from expensive bar rentals and taxes on the denizens of the night that descend upon the EV from happy hour through endless brunch liquor.

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    1. Voted out of office soon? He knows that he will get 80 percent of the vote in a low turnout election. What are you going to do - vote Republican? Besides that revenue and races fund all the programs and services the city provides. Should spending and taxes be lowered? Get real. Democrats can do whatever they want and NYC will vote for them.

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  13. Is the de Blasio comment on video?

    The DIY Music venues in Brooklyn, which I like:

    DIY doesn't mean DII (Do It Illegally). Anyone in this city who opens a school, hotel, restaurant, theater, etc. has to go through a process to ensure the safety of people inside. That means that it needs to be safe for people, proper egress, fire safety, etc.

    If a business opens and it is not safe, then it is morally wrong. If it is not up to code then they should be shut down until they are. Other businesses that are not nightlife have to go through the same DOB requirements so why shouldn't Nightlife. Some Nightlife business owners out there are claiming that the city is against Nightlife. That is incorrect.

    If a club opens and brings in beer bc they can't get a license, well- I could care, but if you are running a club that is unsafe I find that, like I said, morally wrong.

    It is not true that anything with music gets shut down. Look at the LES. We can't get clubs and restaurants shut down, despite their SLA and other violations.

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  14. Good one Gojira

    "Oh please, stop whining. Pretty much all nightlife has move to Brooklyn at this point, there's very few places to go out in Manhattan any more." Sports bars and Gastro Pubs are like nightclubs to the millennials and these are louder more abundant than "clubs" ever were.



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  15. I nominate Stetzer & Co. and Ariel Palitz. Might as well, amirite?

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  16. @2:18 I disagree Hell Square has really bad nightlife and the hotels all have clubs and roof decks. We have become yuppieville. I still think there are too many bars and restaurants. I don't even consider third Avenue part of the East Village anymore.

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  17. What this town really needs is a boozy weekend brunch mayor. I, henceforth, nominate myself.

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  18. Ya know, I just realized this is all a big misunderstanding; we won't be having a Night Mayor, but rather a NIGHTMARE.

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  19. Another requirement for the job should be no past experience as a nightclub owner, manager, or worker above barback or porter (cleanup crew.) This prevents favoritism towards nightclubs, conflict of interest, and patronage.

    LOL @ the rapper turned Trump supporter.

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  20. old people being old

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  21. 'Love the ageism from millenials like 10:12am who always run their mouths about old people for the simple fact that old people can kick, have kicked, and always will kick their asses.

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  22. On Tuesday, the City Council is set to repeal the city’s Cabaret Law, a Prohibition-era rule that made it illegal to dance in most nightspots.

    Good riddance.

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