Monday, February 28, 2011

Smalls, Trilby and Cigarette Smuggling


Nightlife News for March 1, 2011
Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

Business
Smalls
Operators in New York have to adjust to a more competitive environment to keep the doors open. This West Side jazz club is combining a communal creative community with a heavy dose of digital technology to produce music and a business model that are both quite progressive.

Politics
CB3 and the License Transfer:
Operators and community boards are constantly trying to outmaneuver each other as they pursue their political and economic agendas. Operators who didn’t want to deal with contentious boards could purchase liquor license from existing operators to avoid some of the hassle. One downtown board is striking back with a recent vote that will stop license transfers, forcing more operators to deal with NIMBY scrutiny before they open.

Crime
Cigarette Smuggling
In my book, Seize the Night, I argued that overly aggressive cigarette taxes would lead to more crime. This is the same result that came from Prohibition of alcohol early in the 20th century and the “War on Drugs” of the past 30 years. CNBC has just published an article that supports my theory. The high taxes, bans and other attacks on smokers is creating a huge new market for organized crime.

New Venues
The Trilby
A laid back cocktail lounge opens in the Bowery

New York Nights
February Round Up
Here are some of the top nightlife stories from the past month
Fashion Week: Love at First Sight

How to Deal with Drunken Strangers

How to Deal with Drunken Friends

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