New York City’s mandated lockdown presented overwhelming challenges for bars, clubs, and restaurants in New York City. The city’s nightlife industry is made up of 25,000 establishments that support nearly 300,000 jobs with $13.1 billion in wages, and $35 billion in economic activity. (report-june-2021.pdf">Source.) Many of these businesses turned to NYC’s Office of Nightlife for guidance and support during the pandemic.

The Office of Nightlife (part of Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment) is a liaison between NYC's nightlife industry and all other City agencies. Its purpose is to help establish and coordinate systemic solutions to support the nighttime economy, culture, and quality of life. In this episode we hear from Rafael Espinal, who sponsored the bill to create the Office of Nightlife in 2017, and Ariel Palitz, the office’s first Senior Executive Director who has played a big role in guiding the industry through Covid-19’s myriad impacts.

report-june-2021.pdf">Read the Office of Nightlife Report here.

Have a question you want answered? Email us at question@heritageradionetwork.org

This episode was produced in partnership with our friends at TD Bank.

This project is funded in part by a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act. 

This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

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