The NYN Weekly Recap for February 25th 2008

Weekly Recap for February 25th 2008




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Dating
Free Designer Condoms

Fashion
Personal Fashion Mentors

Government
Lesbian Mayors

Special Feature
A Primer for Meeting People

Club Report
Inn LW12, Mansion and Socialista

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Cougars, Connections and Giuliani's Other Failure (Nightlife News)

Nightlife News for February 5th, 2008
By Gamal Hennessy

Dating
Turning the tables on the Sugar Daddy
Robert Campbell: Reuters
The image of an older man dating a younger woman isn’t that unusual. Using money and status and pursue a younger woman is also an accepted social practice. But what happens when the tables are turned? How do we view older women who use money, experience and status to pick up younger men?

Government
Is Times Square Smut Free? Not Really.
Keith Richberg: Washington Post
When Rudy Giuliani ran for President his main claim to fame was his experience as Mayor of New York. He was here during 9/11, so he should be President in a dangerous new world. He stopped crime and cleaned up the smut on 42nd Street, so he had the moral character to be President. But the reality of the situation could be that Giuliani didn’t mastermind the purity of 42nd Street and even if he did plan it, he didn’t succeed in cleaning the place up…

Special Announcement
New York Nights Adds Connections to the Magazine
Gamal Hennessy: New York Nights

New York Nights readers are being given the first chance to join a new social network devoted to nightlife. The service is called Connections and it is available starting this month.

Use the Logo to read more on these stories…only from New York Nights

Superbowl Bars, Powerful Fans and Ticket Wars...

Nightlife News for January 29th 2008
By Gamal Hennessy

Music
Bands and Fans Go Around Music Companies
(Yinka Adegoke: Reuters)
The changes in the music industry are well documented. CD sales are down because of the rise of online music stores and file sharing. Major artists are jumping ship, looking for a better deal in the age of digital music. 360 deals are gaining prominence, giving labels access to merchandise and ticket sales in addition to CD sales. Now websites are giving fans the option to fund and support their favorite bands directly.

Super Bowl
Bars Will Win Before the Game is Over
(Scott Goldstein & Thomas Gaudio: NJBiz.com)
Different industries have different peak seasons. For retail chains, it’s Christmas. For accountants, it’s tax season. For nightclubs, it’s New Year’s Eve. For bars, especially sports bars, it’s major events like March Madness and the World Series. But the one event that might score the biggest night for bars is the Super Bowl. This year the Giants have clawed their way to the big game. That means bar business this year will be huge.

Tickets
Live Nation Set to Take on Ticketmaster
Michele Gershberg: Reuters
Ticketmaster has been the main source of tickets for the past several years. But like the music industry, the internet has disrupted their business model. Stub Hub, and Ebay have already built up a considerable secondary ticket market. In 2009 Live Nation will start to compete in the primary sale of tickets.

Use the banner to read more on these stories in the January 2008 edition of Nightlife News…only from New York Nights

Expensive Wine, Sean Paul Seizures and Smoking Drugs…

Nightlife News for January 23rd 2008
Drinking
Expensive Wine Equals Better Tasting Wine
(Tom Randall: Bloomberg.com)
In a recent study conducted by the California Institute of Technology volunteers were asked to rate the taste of wines. Each taster was told the price of each bottle before they started sipping. In 80% of the cases, the tasters chose the more expensive wines as the better tasting wines. The only problem was that the prices were wrong. People weren’t choosing based on quality, they were choosing based on perception.

Health
When Music is Bad for Your Health
(Kirk Fernandez: ABC News)
Stacey Gayle has a special relationship to Sean Paul’s popular song ‘Temperature’. While the dance hall hit has been known to get people moving, it had a more dramatic effect on Ms. Gayle. She suffered severe epileptic seizures when Temperature or other select songs were played.

Potential Problems Cited in New Anti Smoking Drug
(Press Release)
The benefits associated with quitting smoking are well documented. There are multiple methods a person can use to help them quit. One of those methods is a prescription drug called Chanix. Late last week the makers of Chanix updated the warning label to indicate that Chanix might lead to agitation, depressed mood and suicidal behavior.

Use the Banner to read more on these stories in the January 2008 edition of New York Nights.

Police Shootings and Sin Taxes (Nightlife News)

Nightlife News for January 15th, 2008

Drinking
The Cost of a Drink Might Be Going Up…
(Joe Mahoney: New York Daily News)
Felix Ortiz, a State Assembly Alcoholism Committee Chairman from Brooklyn, has proposed a new tax on every alcoholic beverage solid in the state. Mr. Ortiz claims that if every drink cost $.25 more, the epidemic of underage drinking can be curtailed.

Smoking
New York Scores High Marks for Tobacco Control…but few are satisfied
(Press Release)
Every year the American Lung Association issues a report card for each state grading them on tobacco prevention, cigarette taxes, smoke free air and your access to smoking products. While the city and the state received high marks in almost every category, and scored the second highest ranking in the country, the ALA’s response was clear. New York needs to do more.

Crime
Sean Bell Trial Possibly Moved
(Michael Wilson: New York Times)
On November 25th 2006, Sean Bell left a Queens strip club called Club Kalua after his bachelor party. During an altercation with police, Mr. Bell’s vehicle was shot 50 times by undercover officers. Mr. Bell was killed and two of his companions were injured. Now lawyers for the police in the case filed a motion last week to have the case moved out of New York because the publicity of the case has tainted the potential jury pool.

Read more on all these stories in the January 15th edition of Nightlife News…only from New York Nights.

Nightlife News (Vivitrol, Drunks and 3rd Screen Clubbing)

Technology
NightVision Promises to Bring the Club to Your Cellphone
Press release
Imagine this; you and your friends are thinking about going across town to a club. What if you could see how long the line was, hear the music and check out people in the crowd from your phone. A new service called NightVision is planning to offer this service in New York…for free.

Drinking
Is New York City Full of Drunks?
(Kate Lowenstein: Time Out New York)
According to the Department of Health, fourteen percent of New Yorkers binge drink meaning they have five or more drinks at one sitting. Five percent of New Yorkers are heavy drinkers meaning they have more than two drinks every day. Do you fall into this category? Welcome to the club. Before you hang your head in shame and find out what this is doing to your body, cheer up. The level of binge drinking in the rest of the United States is twenty four percent…

New Treatments for Alcoholism
(Melissa Healy: Los Angeles Times)
If you read the last article and decided you need treatment for alcoholism, your main option is a rehab clinic and a 12 step program to help you stay on the wagon. Many people of the 5.7 million American alcoholics don’t want the stigma associated with this treatment. Only Amy Winehouse turned it into profit by making a song about it. New treatment options might take the process out of rehab and put it in your doctor’s office.

Use the Banner below to read these stories in the January 4th Edition of Nightlife News…Only from New York Nights

Nightlife News for January 4, 2008

Nightlife News for January 4, 2008

Health
HIV Cases on the Rise
(Sarah Kershaw: New York Times)
The number of new H.I.V. and AIDS cases has decreased steadily in New York City for the past five years among almost every demographic group. However, the number of young Black and Hispanic men who have contracted the disease is on the rise.

Is Binge Drinking a Recipe for Brain Damage?
(Maia Szalavitz: Sixty Second Science)
Did you drink too much on New Year's Eve? If you did, then we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that there is evidence in the medical community that binge drinking leads to long term brain damage. The good news is that the evidence might be misleading.

Promotion
Working to Throw the Perfect Party
(Melena Ryzik: New York Times)
Organizing a party in New York used to be about mixing exciting energetic people with an interesting venue then adding music and liquor. With the rise of bottle service, promoting a party is more about corporate credit cards, celebrities and perceived exclusivity. Now a set of downtown promoters are trying to throw a party that is more fun and less finance.

Use the Banner below to read these stories in the January 4th Edition of Nightlife News…Only from New York Nights

Club Report for December 13, 2007 (Nest, Death and Strip Club Advice)

This week’s club report has the opening of Nest, the death of Death & Company and tips for your next strip club visit…

Only from New York Nights

Nightlife News for December 11th 2007

Nightlife News for December 11, 2007

Drinking
Buy Your Friend a Drink Launches In Time for the Holidays
(Press Release)
If you can’t figure out what to get the party animal on your holiday list, BYFAD has the solution. Instead of giving them a gift certificate for a store that they will never use, you can give them a gift card than can be redeemed at the bar.

Music
The Evolution of Dance Music
(Kate Spicer; Times Online)
Hip Hop has been the dominant music genre in clubs for the past few years. Not only has it ruled over the traditionally hip hop spots, but as more of the Top 40 charts are dominated by rap and rap fusion acts, more of the mainstream venues are almost pure hip hop factories. But New York, along with other international cities, is home to a new era of dance music.

Dating
Study shows singles do better in New York
There have been quite a few articles written about the demise of New York nightlife and the rise of cities like Atlanta, Las Vegas and San Francisco. However, a recent survey shows that New York is still the center of the universe when it comes to bars and nightclubs, especially if you are single.

Use the Banner below to read these stories in the December 11th Edition of Nightlife News…Only from New York Nights

Nightlife News for November 27, 2007

Nightlife News for November 27th

Crime
Nightclub Owner Sentenced in Death of Promoter (No credit available- New York Newsday)
You never know what to expect when you are booking a party at a club. Most places are laid back and helpful and professional when you call ahead. Some places are really expensive and annoying. When Michael Clark went to Dubie’s Place in Queens, he was killed.

Government
NYC Cracks Down on Underage Celebrity Clubbers (No Credit Available – United Press International)
When you were paying $800 for bottle service, there was a good chance that some child celebrity was at a table close by. If the State Liquor Authority has its way, that is going to stop very soon.

Music
More and More NY Spots using IPods instead of DJs for music (Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service)
Once upon a time, if a bar or restaurant wanted music, they got a jukebox and people could pick the music that suited their mood. Later a DJ would be on hand to provide music for the venue. Then Apple came along and made it easy for the bartender to just plug in his Ipod and play what she wanted to hear. Now, it’s a business with whole companies providing pre-arranged Ipods to their clients.

Music
New Orleans Jazz Men Come to New York Post Katrina (Vincent Mallozzi- New York Times)
Davell Crawford was one of the reasons New Orleans was a jazz hub in America. He played there since he was seven, won several entertainment awards and thrilled audiences at the House of Blues. After Katrina hit in 2005, it destroyed his home, his music studio and wiped out his life savings. Now Mr. Crawford and many other musicians like him are starting over in New York.

You use the banner to read all these stories and more in the November 27th edition of Nightlife News from New York Nights

NYN Weekly Recap for November 26th 2007

Nightlife News

Drinking
Rising Beer Prices Coming to 2008 (Michael Rundle- Metro)
You might go to the bar for a few drinks to forget about the rising cost of living and the crazy stock market. But higher prices are everywhere. They might hit your beer glass very soon.

Music
More Musicians Opt for 360 Deals (Jeff Leeds- New York Times)
Artists like Madonna, Prince and Radiohead have forced the music industry to rethink the way they make money. Their newest model is to go beyond selling CDs and hoping that they’ll find one mega hit to pay for ten mediocre bands. The new idea is to draw a band into a 360 deal.

Safety
New wrinkle in St. Gullien murder case (Neel Shah- Radar Online)
Darryl Littlejohn is currently being held in Riker’s Island for the kidnapping torture, rape, murder and mutilation of Imette St. Guillen. He has been in jail since April, but it has only recently been brought to light that Littlejohn was an informant for state and federal law enforcement.

Editorial
The Cure for New York Nightlife (Gamal Hennessy- New York Nights)
Last week we took a look at the way the nightlife environment has changed from its peak to the situation we have today. This week we find out what we can do to inject new life into the club scene.

The Club Report:
Rubyfruit
Tenjune
The Knitting Factory

Regular Features

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Night

Drinking
Rising Beer Prices Coming to 2008 (Michael Rundle- Metro)
You might go to the bar for a few drinks to forget about the rising cost of living and the crazy stock market. But higher prices are everywhere. They might hit your beer glass very soon.

Music
More Musicians Opt for 360 Deals (Jeff Leeds- New York Times)
Artists like Madonna, Prince and Radiohead have forced the music industry to rethink the way they make money. Their newest model is to go beyond selling CDs and hoping that they’ll find one mega hit to pay for ten mediocre bands. The new idea is to draw a band into a 360 deal.

Safety
New wrinkle in St. Gullien murder case (Neel Shah- Radar Online)
Darryl Littlejohn is currently being held in Riker’s Island for the kidnapping torture, rape, murder and mutilation of Imette St. Guillen. He has been in jail since April, but it has only recently been brought to light that Littlejohn was an informant for state and federal law enforcement.

Read more on this articles by clicking on the banner to read the November 20th edition of Nightlife News

Nightlife News for November 13, 2007

Nightlife News for November 13th 2007

Radiohead Results 38% Will Pay (Robert Andrews- Paid Content)
Last month, everyone in the music and business press (including NYN) speculated on how Radiohead’s new “pay what you want” pricing would affect album sales. This wasn’t about the fate of just one album; the entire industry was waiting for the results. Now that the results are in, it doesn’t look good for album sales.

Get Your Hands Off My Lime (Michael Wilson- New York Times)
It appears that certain inspectors from the New York State Department of Health are taking their jobs seriously…maybe too seriously. One Brooklyn bar was cited by the DOH for an infraction that has allegedly been on the books for years. Was it the dog inside the bar? No. Was it the fruit flies near the liquor bottles? Nope. It was the lime stuffed in the neck of the Corona bottle.

Liquor on Trains? OK. Liquor Ads on Trains? No. (John DeSio- Village Voice)
If you ride the Long Island Railroad or MetroNorth into or out of the city, you can see an ad for beer on the platform and then get a beer on the train, if you’re of drinking age. But if Felix Ortiz has anything to say about it, you won’t see any liquor ads on MTA trains.

Read more on these stories in the November 13th Edition of Nightlife News, only from New York Nights

Nightlife News for November 6, 2007

Nightlife News for November 6th, 2007

The Economics of Bottle Service (Pascale Le Draoulec- Forbes)
A nightclub has a clear social hierarchy. There are people who get to sit down and have drinks delivered to them. Everyone else has to fight their way to the bar and stand up. What’s the difference? We call it bottle service.

NYN to Launch New Feature: (Gamal Hennessy- New York Nights)
The geography of New York’s club scene changes on a weekly basis. Established spots close, new spots open, names change. How can you keep up with it all and make sure you don’t walk up to your favorite spot only to find out it’s been closed by the Department of Health?

Possible Landmark Status for Webster Hall? (Jennifer Lee- New York Times)
While some nightclubs run out of money in the first year and others are closed by quality of life concerns and police raids, Webster Hall is on the verge of becoming a New York City landmark.

If you want to read the full story, click on the banner and jump to Nightlife News

New Attacks on Nightlife (Nightlife News)

Serial rapist uses club as hunting ground (Christopher Faherty- New York Sun)
Two women have been grabbed off the street and raped in the past few weeks after leaving a The Box on the LES. While the description of the assailant and the vehicle used in the crime differs the pattern is similar enough to categorize this as a serial rapist.

Down Days for Nightlife (Justin Silverman- AM New York)
The cover story for AM New York today was a piece on the way nightlife has changed in the city since the 70’s and 80’s. In the past a few major clubs ruled and the only way to get in was to catch the eye of the doorman. Today’s venues are predominantly smaller and as long as you have money, you can get in pretty much anywhere.

Click the Banner to Read the full version of these stories

Nightlife News for October 23, 2007

Nightlife News for October 23, 2007

NY Liquor Authority blamed for decline (Lisa Fickenscher-Crain’s New York)
It is natural for a certain number of businesses to close in any given year. The businesses that disappear are usually replaced by new ones as long as the demand is there. However, while New York City has seen some bars and clubs close in the past few years, the number of replacement clubs is going down, even though the demand is as strong as it ever was...

Smarter people skip the smoking tax (Joan Gralla- Reuters)
You can’t smoke in most New York bars (unless they have hookah) and New York smokers pay more in cigarette tax than almost any other city in the country… or do they?...

New Social Network for Buying Tickets Unveiled. (Press Release)
The changes that Madonna and Radiohead brought to the music industry last week overshadowed a new service designed to help people buy, sell and trade tickets to sports and entertainment events without the high surcharges or fees....

For this and more Nightlife News, click the banner to jump to New York Nights.

NYPD Issues Nightlife Guidelines (Nightlife News)

Nightlife News for October 19th

Clubs Begin Work with City to Improve Security Conditions (Al Baker- New York Times)
The recent deaths of two club patrons in the past year is being used as the catalyst for new cooperation between the police department and the New York Nightlife Association. Yesterday, in a joint statement the two groups announced 58 measures that are intended to make clubs safer for patrons and give club owners incentive to call the police if trouble occurs.

Nightlife spots have been reluctant to call the police in the past because they didn’t want to have to deal with the disorderly premises citations that would interfere with their liquor licenses.

What does this mean to you the next time you go out? There might be more security guards, more cameras, metal detectors, ID scanning machines and more chances that cops will show up if something happens. You can also expect higher costs. The club owners are business people first. If they have to pay for more security, we have to pay for more security. But paying a little more for a drink is preferable to dead club kids in the street or clubs shut down all over the city. (Additional Coverage from Justin Silverman AM New York)

Lawmakers call for a fake ID crackdown (Brandon Bain- Newsday)
At the same time that the NYPD is developing guidelines for club security, state lawmakers are pushing to change the dram shop laws to increase penalties for the people who sell fake ID’s.

It is estimated that 16% of the alcohol consumed in New York State is consumed by minors. These minors use fake ID to get into bars and buy drinks. The law in place since 1921 hold the bartender and the bar owner liable for any injury or damage resulting from underage drinking, but the person who created the fake ID went largely unpunished.

Removing some of the burden from bartenders in this scenario makes sense, since even a trained bartender can have trouble verifying age on a busy Saturday night. Besides I’d like the chance to drink that 16% of statewide alcohol without losing it to some kid…(Additional Coverage: from Brian Howard : Journal News and Mark Siesel: New York Legal Blog )

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll (Nightlife News)

Nightlife News for October 16th, 2007

Madonna’s New Deal Could Mean a Change in Ticket Prices (Vinne Tong- Associated Press) The big news in music last week (after Radiohead’s pay what you want announcement) was Madonna’s move from Warner Music to Live Nation. The $120 million dollar deal gives Live Nation 360 coverage of Madonna’s work. They will handle her records, merchandise, and most importantly her ticket sales. Ticket sales are a major source of revenue now that the sale of actual music has been undercut by the internet. The rise of Live Nation also increases competition for ticket powerhouses like Ticketmaster and Clear Channel, but it’s unclear whether all of this will mean lower ticket prices when we decide to hit a show…

CMJ Kicks Off This Week (Melena Ryzik-New York Times) CMJ was once billed as the music festival where an unknown band could get in front of a legion of industry king makers and prove that they could be the next big thing. Now, with record companies losing big acts to innovative distribution models (see Radiohead, Madonna & Prince), loss of market share from file sharing and online stores, CMJ is evolving into a more of a networking, community building event. There will still be hundreds of bands playing in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey from now until Sunday. There is still the chance that some band that plays tonight will be on the cover of Rolling Stone next month, but the CMJ is changing, just like the rest of the music industry.

Gray Rape: The Line Between Sex and Rape? (Sewell Chan- New York Times) If you are too drunk or high to form words, or remember anything that happened to you, can you consent to sex? If you can’t consent to sex, and someone has sex with you, did they rape you? These questions were raised by Laura Sessions Stepp in the September Issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. The situation is currently being referred to as ‘gray rape’, even though it is not a new phenomenon. The use of narcotics and spirits to lower sexual inhibitions might be as old as liquor itself. I wouldn’t actually be surprised if men in pre-historical times invented liquor just to get women drunk. The confusion with gray rape among lawmakers, police, and anti-rape activists stems from the rising sexual freedom among women. While the definitions of rape have not changed, behavior among men and women has, making things about as confusing as waking up in bed next to someone you don’t even remember meeting…

Gamal

Nightlife News for October 11th, 2007

Nightlife News for October 11, 2007

Hell’s Kitchen becoming new gay haven? (Dan Allen- OutTraveler.com) While the West Village and Chelsea are considered the foundation of gay life in New York City, changes are taking place. As the NYU glacier moves in from the Village and B&T crowd make more in roads into Chelsea from the Meatpacking District Hell’s Kitchen (or Hellsea, or Clinton or NoChe depending on who you ask) is becoming the new focus point for the LGBT population. Since some of the biggest club trends follow them around, don’t be surprised to find the hottest spots in the city here very soon.

Miller and Coors join forces (Andrew Martin- New York Times) There has been a major shift in the Beer Wars (you didn’t even know we were having a beer war, did you?). This week Miller, the number 2 beer distributor in the country, and Coors, the number 3, have joined forces to become MillerCoors. The new entity is expected to generate 6.6 billion sales every year(which by the way is more than the GNP of Fiji). What does this mean to you when you get to the club? It will probably mean less selection and higher prices if the deal goes through since Busch and MillerCoors would have 80% of the US beer market and can effectively squeeze smaller players out.

City Launches Multimedia Project to Promote NYC (Press Release) New York City is trying to attract 50 million tourists here by 2015. In an effort to draw more people in, the city has announced a long term ad campaign that will stretch from Boston to Pretoria, and include TV, billboard and online advertising that showcases what New York has to offer. The New York City tourist website has been revamped, with a search engine powered by Time Out New York. Of course, nightlife will be included in this push, but it doesn’t look like it will be pushed very hard. The nightlife section of the site is painfully short and there isn’t any mention of all the clubs they’ve closed or refused to let open over the past couple of years. I guess that’s not good for business…

Have fun
Gamal
gamal@newyorknightsonline.com

New Event Sites from DKNY and NYN (Nightlife News)

We've Got News about New Club Sites from NYN and DKNY in the October 2nd Issue of Nightlife News




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