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There has been a new development which is very hopeful, in the long struggle to repeal the cabaret laws.

From the LegalizeDancingNYC list -

JUNE 2005 -
LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST CITY: CABARET LAWS LIMIT FREE EXPRESSION!

On June 23, 2005, Plaintiffs John Festa, Gotham West Coast Swing Club, Byron Cox, Ian Dutton and Meredith Stead, four social dancers and a social dance organization, sued the city and consumer affairs in NY State Court to enjoin the operation of the licensing and zoning cabaret restrictions based on the dancers' rights of free expression.

LDNYC fully supports the dancers and their lawsuit and believes it is finally time for New York City to rid itself of these absurd, regressive, antiquated, and anti-economic Cabaret Laws, which make it technically illegal to dance in the vast majority of establishments.

Send all inquiries regarding the lawsuit to NYU Law Professor Paul Chevigny
chevigny@juris.law.nyu.edu

http://www.legalizedancingnyc.com
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Woke up to this fantastic news, out of nowhere!

quote:

Mayor Bloomberg wants to give more New Yorkers a chance to dance.

City Hall is looking to eliminate - or at least loosen - the cumbersome cabaret license so more bars and businesses can allow patrons to let loose, the Daily News has learned.

"We either want to eliminate the license or establish a different license so that it would be less onerous for people to engage in dancing," said a source close to the mayor.

The 82-year-old license "as it exists doesn't offer a reasonable opportunity for New Yorkers to dance at clubs," the City Hall source said.

The administration is in talks with the Consumer Affairs Department, which issues the licenses, and the NYPD, which enforces them, to make the change.



Daily News Story
From the Metropolis in Motion list:

quote:


From: Julie (Jewels) Ziff Sint

While we don't have many details yet, Metropolis in Motion is excited about the Mayor's office's move to reform the redundant Cabaret Laws and we will strive for a complete line item repeal of the illegal dancing statute. We hope to revitalize NYC as a safe and vibrant nightlife destination with all the economic benefit that entails. Once again, NYC can be like every other major city... because dancing is not a crime.

Please help!
1. Call 311 and voice your support for repealing the cabaret law.
2. Write letters to the editors of your local borough and larger media outlets. Or add a comment to the newspaper items already online.
3. Call your city council member's office and ask them to join the effort.
More good news - undoubtedly recession-driven..

From The Villager

quote:

The Ninth Precinct, which covers the bar-saturated East Village between 14th and Houston Sts., this week lost its cabaret enforcement unit, which has been folded into the regular patrol strength after the precinct received an additional sergeant and 14 additional officers.

The additional personnel will give the precinct commander the flexibility to assign more than the old cabaret unit of one sergeant and three officers to cabaret enforcement, depending on conditions on any given night, said Paul J. Browne, deputy commissioner of public information, in an e-mail reply to an inquiry from The Villager.

Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, which includes the Ninth Precinct, was uneasy about the change.

C.B. 3 has more bar complaints than any other board in the city, she said, “way over 1,000 bar complaints to 311 for the fiscal year, which isn’t even over yet.” The board district also includes the Seventh Precinct, which has a cabaret enforcement unit, and part of the Fifth Precinct, which has no cabaret unit.

Stetzer noted that the old Ninth Precinct cabaret unit had special hours.

“If they work 24/7 they could lose their expertise,” she said, referring to the officers who replace the former unit.


http://thevillager.com/villager_305/showsoverfor.html

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