Lowering the Noise

Late last night we heard from New York Night Life Association (NYLA) counsel Rob Bookman that the night club industry might be close to a deal with the city on its proposed new noise code. In exchange for the industry's removal of its opposition, the city had agreed to excise the noxious "plainly audible" provision that would have put club owners at the mercy of the subjective judgment of a responding police officer.

If this agreement does come to pass all the props need to go to Councilman Jim Gennaro, someone who has come in for considerable criticism from these quarters. Gennaro's flexibility, along with the spirited opposition mobilized by Bookman, Dave Rabin and the rest of the club owners, has made a deal possible. And even though the new code is seriously flawed it could have been plainly worse if not for the NYNA ground game.