NYC Names First-Ever Nightlife Advisory Board

NEW YORK, NY — A DJ, a drag queen and a rapper will help clue officials in to New York City's nightlife scene. Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council on Thursday named the 14 members of the first-ever Nightlife Advisory Board, which will advise lawmakers on the city's life after dark.

The panel includes business leaders, lawyers, advocates and performers such as the rapper Kurtis Blow and drag artist Marti Gould Cummings.

"The new Nightlife Advisory Board reflects the diversity that makes our city and our nightlife great," de Blasio said in a statement. "Working together, we will ensure the industry continues to thrive."

The board will issue formal recommendations to the mayor and the Council about various issues affecting the nightlife industry, such as its regulatory structure, public safety concerns, zoning and the integration of nightlife into local neighborhoods, city officials said.

Each member of the all-volunteer board will serve a two-year term, officials said. The panel will meet in the near future to elect a chair and will then set its meeting schedule, said Janet Allon, a spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.

The panel was created by the same City Council legislation that established the Office of Nightlife, which is meant to serve as a liaison between city agencies, the nightlife industry and local residents.

De Blasio appointed former East Village bar owner Ariel Palitz as the office's first senior executive director — or "Night Mayor" — in March.

"I am very excited to work with the Nightlife Advisory Board, and look forward to the important and diverse insight they will bring," Palitz said in a statement. "Along with the recent hiring of the full Office of Nightlife staff, the stage is set to accomplish the very significant work ahead."

Here's the full list of the Nightlife Advisory Board members.

Mayoral Appointees

• José Francisco Ávila, founder and managing member of Garufina Afro-Latina Entertainment, LLC. and Chairman of the Board of The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
• Kurtis Blow, rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and Chairman of the Universal Hip Hop Museum who has released 15 albums over the course of his career
• DJ Tikka Masala composes and produces music for the Obie and Bessie award winning Brooklyn based feminist acrobatic dance company, LAVA, and is resident DJ at Henrietta Hudson
• Susan Stetzer, district manager for Community Board 3, Manhattan, where she has served for the past 14 years
• Luisa F. Torres, owner of Mojitos Restaurant Bar and community activist

City Council Appointees

• Robert Bookman, regulatory and liquor licensing attorney, partner Pesetsky and Bookman
• Marti Gould Cummings, drag artist, LGBTQ advocate
• Alvester Garnett, drummer, percussionist, arts educator and advocate
• Pedro Goico, representative at New York Supermarket Association
• Olympia Kazi, architect, arts advocate and urban design critic. Member of the NYC Artists Coalition
• Andrew Praschak, environmental attorney
• Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance
• David Rosen, Brooklyn and Queens bar operator and community organizer, co-founder of Brooklyn Allied Bars and Restaurants (BABAR)
• Susan Xenarios, director and founder, Crime Victims Treatment Center, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals

(Lead image: Shops and restaurants are pictured in the West Village. Photo by Jochen Tack / imageBROKER/Shutterstock)