Save The Night

Quasi-legal nightclubs were on the verge of extinction—until the city realized how crucial it is to have an underground.

- Lauren Levy

THE HOUSE OF YES is a club in Bushwick famous for its lusty, sex positive parties. The festivities typically feature feasts served on naked bodies, burlesque performances, and barely clothed aerial dancers, men and women both, locked in hanging cages. The vibe is reliably nightclub–meets–adult circus, even on the Tuesday night in September when Mayor Bill de Blasio pulled up in his motorcade to sign legislation to create the city’s first Office of Nightlife.

The office, which will be opened by next spring, comes on the heels of the city’s decision, prompted largely by Bushwick City Council member Rafael Espinal, to repeal a 91-year-old cabaret law that required a special license for dancing venues. The Office of Nightlife will be run by a “nightlife mayor,” who will be tasked with, yes, staying up all night (or so Espinal, who drafted the bill, would prefer) to deal with nightlife related issues. The nightlife mayor will liaise between the city and the nightlife community, while being advised by a 12- member panel of nightlife advocates, community members, and restaurant and bar owners. The idea for such a position is not without precedent: Amsterdam was the first to create one, followed by London and Paris. Several American cities now have a nightlife mayor, including San Francisco, Austin, and, surprisingly, Iowa City.