Boom Boom Room, Pain Killer and Rooftop Bars

The Nightlife Report for April 16, 2010

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

Changes
Boom Boom
The very exclusive (although it claims not to be) lounge inside the Standard Hotel recently got conditional approval from the local CB to allow dancing inside the venue. Under the condition that the space is not “trying to become a club” then the DJ can drop tunes more conducive to dancing. I understand that the impact of the cabaret law is a complex issue, but the politics of dancing always disgusts me. The concept that a political body claims to have the right or authority to say who can and cannot gyrate in close proximity to members of the opposite (or same depending on the venue) sex is appalling. Luckily, the dance police and members of the community board can’t even get into the Boom Boom Room, so they won’t know we are dancing until they see the Facebook photos.

Coming Soon
Pain Killer
The former East Side Company space is re-inventing itself as a tiki bar/ speakeasy and opening next week. With veterans from the Little Branch, Milk and Honey and Dutch Kills school of cocktails this old space will try to bring a new twist to the cocktail lounge formula. Look for a full review here soon.

Opinion
Bloomberg Achieves High Approval Rating
According to a Marist poll, 38% of New Yorkers feel that Mayor Bloomberg is the best mayor that the city has had since 1980. People polled cited improved quality of life, security and cleaner streets. While it is a subjective finding, nightlife natives know that Bloomberg has built part of his legacy by turning a blind eye to our industry. His zoning practices that pit residents against operators, his smoking ban that exponentially increased the noise issue, his failure to effectively deal with the cabaret law and the oppressive use of city agencies against venues are all indications that Marist didn’t poll many nightlife operators when they decided to conduct this survey.

Trend
Rooftop Bars
This is the third or fourth spring of the roof top bar in NYC. We have them downtown (Above Allen) in the Meatpacking District (Provocateur) on the West Side (Hudson Terrace) in Midtown (Empire Hotel and on the East Side (Mad 46). Zagat has recently put together a list of the bars with retractable roofs so you can live the high life rain or shine (just as long as you can pay for the cocktails. Retractable roofs are not cheap.)

Have fun.
G

Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Sign up for the Insider Newsletter