In an effort to help “businesses and residents to co-exist without conflict,” New York’s Nightlife Advisory Council has recommended 4:00 AM curfews for bars and nightclubs along with legal drinking in public parks.
The proposal was published in the Nightlife Advisory Council’s report last week as part of a rezoning suggestion to better integrate nightlife into New York’s neighborhoods. “Family-friendly” operating hours would be required in residential areas should the proposal be approved. Council members see it as a way to ensure that revelers and partygoers have safer options as COVID-19 and its Delta variant begin to surge throughout New York once again.
Councilman Peter Koo, chairman of the Committee of Parks and Recreation, aired skepticism about the public drinking proposal. “Doing dancing and drinking in the public, without strong regulation, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said in a statement.
New York Mayor Bill De Blasio echoed his sentiment. “Dancing used to have cabaret laws that were arcane; I smile on dancing, I don’t smile on drinking in public places,” he said. “I think there have to be some laws and public standards and I think right now is the right way to go.”
“We’re not just talking about taking every single public space and turning it into an outdoor party, of course not,” said Chair of the Nightlife Advisory Council Andrew Rigie. “It’s a little bit more refined than that.”
The full New York Nightlife Advisory Council report can be read on the City of New York website.
