Marc Berkley, Alejandro Flores and Laura Garza

The New York Nights Nightlife Report for May 2, 2010
Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

…I hunt down the nightlife news so you don’t have to…

New York Nights is preempting its normal nightlife coverage to mark the passing of three people who, each in their own way, impacted the nightlife industry and culture. We will resume our regular coverage next week.

Obituaries
Marc Berkley
(1954-2010)
Marc Berkley was an influential promoter, publisher and gay activist. During his career he created long running events at iconic venues including Saint, Limelight, and the Roxy. He founded HX and Empire magazines, coordinated the 19th and 20th Pride anniversaries and was an outspoken advocate for nightlife during the Giuliani era crackdowns. On April 24, 2010 he died peacefully in his sleep of unknown causes.

Laura Garza
(1983-2008?)
Laura Garza was an aspiring dancer who moved from Texas to New York City in 2008. She was last seen leaving Marquee on December 3, 2008 with a man who was later identified as Michael Mele a convicted sex offender. Ms. Garza has been missing since that night, but her remains were identified last week near Scranton Pennsylvania. This new discovery could mean additional charges for Mr. Mele, who is currently serving a one to three year sentence on unrelated charges.

Alejandro Flores
(1984-2010)
Alejandro Flores was a manager of Sin Sin and Leopard Lounge in the East Village. He was a constant fixture at the long running Soulgasm events as well as the open mic and open turntable events that Sin Sin was known for. Alejandro also personally helped me during my experience as a DJ for the Scratch Collective. Unconfirmed reports indicate that on April 24th, Mr. Flores fell onto the tracks and was struck and killed by an MTA train.

Have fun.
G

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Female Safety in the Nightclub Environment

By Gamal Hennessy

There are 65 million entries into nightlife venues every year. The vast majority of the patrons who go into our bars, clubs and lounges make it home safely every night. Unfortunately, on rare occasions, predators and fanatics prey on the isolated and the defenseless. The results are terrible for the victims and negative for the industry as a whole. The recent case of Luis Zambrano highlights both the need for awareness in an adult environment and offers guidance on the best way for ladies to protect themselves at night.

Last week, Inside Edition ran a story about a man named Luis Zambrano. Mr. Zambrano went to Marquee, isolated a 23 year old girl, dragged her out of the club in full view of the crowd and the operators, took her back to his apartment and raped her. Because the entire incident was caught on Marquee’s security cameras, Zambrano was arrested and pled guilty to kidnapping and rape charges.

Experts state that this contained several elements that predators look for. First, the victim was separated from her friends. Second, the victim was either drunk when Zambrano met her or she accepted drinks from him that were laced with GHB or similar substances. This combination gives predators the ability to overpower and move a victim out of the venue. If she is too drunk or drugged, she’s not conscious enough to resist or even speak. Other random patrons can’t tell if the man carrying a woman out of a club is her boyfriend or her rapist. The bouncers can’t tell if they are best friends, if they just met or if they never met. The predator preys on animosity and isolation.

There is no practical way for women to alter or eliminate predators or fanatics in nightlife. It is often very difficult to even identity a potential threat in the chaotic environment of a club. But there are five steps that women can take to deter and avoid assaults while they are out; group movement, designated watchers, deterrence images, retained awareness and responsible indulgence.

Group Movement: Lisa Friel is an ADA for the sex crimes unit in Manhattan. She has experience with cases of sexual assaults that begin in clubs and end in the predator’s apartment or car. She advocates that women use the concept of group movement, meaning that the ladies go out together, remain in the same general area and leave together. This prevents any one woman from being isolated and abused. Ms. Friel isn’t saying you shouldn’t dance, meet boys, exchange numbers and generally have a good time. She isn’t saying that the whole night should be one huge exercise in cockblocking. She is saying that there is strength in numbers when it comes to preventing sexual assault.

Designated Watcher: Ms. Friel also supports the use of a designated watcher. Similar to a designated driver, the watcher drinks less than the rest of the group and makes sure that no one falls unconscious, gets overcome by a group of fanatics, or stumbles out of the club at 4:15 without any idea of where they are or how they are getting home. Again, this isn’t an invitation for a wet blanket to play morality cop and ruin everyone’s night, but if you go out in a group and the whole group gets blind drunk, then the security of the group isn’t that effective.

Deterrence Image: If you are separated from your group, or if you are the designated watcher, you will need a way to drive off people who might cause problems. Sexual criminals in nightlife are similar to predators in nature. When choosing someone to attack, they often choose the person who appears the least likely to protect themselves. They target the weakest of the herd. In a nightlife context that means they will target people who are drunk, preoccupied, confused, or who project weakness through non verbal signals in their body language. Victimology experts Chuck Hustmyre and Jay Dixit suggest that attackers are less likely to choose targets that are organized in their movement, confident in their posture and comfortable in their surroundings are less likely to be singled out. The evidence supports this theory. Zambrano didn’t target the women who were full of energy and dancing around him. He went after the one passed out on the couch.

Retained Awareness: The Zambrano crime also shows that it is very hard to get out of a situation that you are not aware of. If you are surprised, caught off guard or blindsided, you are more likely compound your problems. If you’re going to get so drunk that you don’t know where you are, you are more likely to wind up someplace that you don’t want to be. A stumbling drunk identifies herself to every fanatic in the room as an amateur and a potential victim. Maintaining awareness of your surroundings as you party is an integral part of being a nightlife native. You can have a good time and keep your eyes open, but you have to make that choice up front.

Responsible Indulgence: The basic concept that women can use to protect themselves is responsible indulgence. It isn’t about being afraid to go out or going out looking for trouble. It is about knowing your limits and being familiar with your environment so you can deal with a potential problem if it arises. There is such a thing as too much to drink. There are activities that aren’t worth the risk. You can enjoy everything nightlife has to offer and still remember it in the morning. Predators seek out nightlife amateurs and avoid nightlife natives because the amateur is easy prey. As more women become natives, sexual assaults against women will be even more atypical.

Sexuality is at the core of the nightlife experience. Women are the linchpin to the majority of nightlife business and culture. But that doesn’t mean that they need to feel uncomfortable, threatened or afraid when they go out. It does mean that they need to take some precautions to deter the Zambrono’s of the world.

Have fun.

G

Cellar 58, Marquee and Lounge Poker

The New York Nights Club Report for July 9, 2009
Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

Opening
Cellar 58
(Thrillist)
A haven for rare wine opens in NoHo.

Issues
Marquee

(Village Voice)
The iconic club has been linked to a sexual assault…

Trends
Lounge Poker

(Black Book)
The speakeasy trend is bringing back more than specialty cocktails. Card games are breaking out all over the city…

Beer Cocktails
(New York Times)
If you can never decide between a beer and a cocktail, now you can have both…

Opinion

Best Strip Clubs

If you’re looking for a better quality of pole dancer, look no further…

Have fun.

Gamal

The Right Side of the Bottle

By Gamal Hennessy

There has been a lot written about how the practice of bottle service has become a scourge on nightlife culture. I know this is true because I’ve written quite a few of those articles myself. The recession has exposed a weakness in the business model that might put some operators out of business. But bottles are still flowing and some venues are thriving from it. So what is it that makes bottle service work for some venues and not work for others? A recent study suggests that it’s the patrons that hold the key to long term success.

Anita Elberse, Ryan Barlow and Sheldon Wong are students at Harvard Business School. They recently published a study called Marquee: The Business of Nightlife where they document the financial success of this long running venue and what goes on behind the scenes to make the venue work. One of the many interesting aspects of the study was the breakdown of Marquee’s bottle service clients. While this group is relatively small (40% of the patrons on any given night) they accounted for 80% of the revenue. And while any one could theoretically purchase bottle service, there were three main groups that Marquee provided this service to. There are celebrities who are so famous that they only have one name (think Diddy, Bono, and Paris). There are Upper East Side socialites who inspired the characters in The Devil Wears Prada, and Gossip Girl. Then there are the professionals who recently acquired wealth and were looking for a place to spend it. The last group has dwindled significantly, but between these three groups Marquee made more than two million dollars in their third year of operation.

The other point of interest in this dynamic is the time it took to cultivate the relationships that made bottle service work. The owners of Marquee, Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss claim to have spent half their lives developing relationships in the nightlife industry, interacting with potential clients in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and using Marquee as a national concierge service for established bottle service clientele. Their main focus was on the client who could consistently frequent the venue over several years, not the stock broker who would spend $100,000 in six months and then burn out. Based on the Harvard study, Marquee’s success is based on a decade and a half of work, not a flashy gimmick.

Marquee connects with people who have money to spend over an extended period of time. Among other things that they do, that practice has kept them running much longer than the average New York venue. Places that try to force bottle service on patrons who don’t have black Amex cards probably won’t last as long in this economy. And patrons who don’t have a name like Bono might want to think twice before trying to live this lifestyle. A prominent promoter I talked to last week explained it very well. ‘I don’t tell my customers what they should do with their money, but maybe the guys coming in from Newark who make $40,000 a year shouldn’t be spending $600 on a bottle of vodka. I think they can have just as much fun running a tab at the bar.’

Have fun.
G

Beekman, Elsa, Greenhouse, Marquee and Rick’s

The NYN Club Report for November 19, 2008

Opening
Beekman Bar and Books
(Thrillist)
High class libations and a strict dress code are at home here.

Greenhouse
(Urban Daddy)
Meet the latest fad in eco-consciousness…the green nightclub.

Elsa
(Martini Boys)
The Lower East Side takes another step toward respectability.

New Year’s Eve
Marquee
(New York Observer)
The Chelsea staple won’t be able to stay open past 4:00 AM on Jan. 1.

Financial Reports
Rick’s Cabaret
(Earth Times)
Sex sells…even in a recession.

Have fun.
Gamal

Marquee, Braai, Vintage Irving and Galapagos

The NYN Club Report for August 14th 2008




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