Back in September, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced he’d be blessing some lucky soul with the impossibly cool job title of Nightlife Mayor: a designated representative of all things late, fun, and generally badass in a city that's famous for getting weird after sundown. On Wednesday, he finally announced his pick—tapping born-and-bred New Yorker Ariel Palitz for a gig pretty much every other NYC denizen would kill for, the New York Times reports.
The job might sound like a way to get paid to rip shots and hang out with James Murphy until 4 AM every night, but it isn't quite as cushy as it seems. It's on Palitz, a former bar owner, to smooth over the never-ending beef New York's bars, clubs, and venues get into with the neighborhoods that house them. She'll also be tasked with helping late-night joints get the licenses and permits they need to open up shop, and drafting new policies to help support the places where New Yorkers rage until daybreak, according to DNAinfo.
The role came to be thanks to Brooklyn city councilman Rafael Espinal, who drafted legislation to form an Office of Nightlife—which Palitz now runs—back in May. According to the Times, the move comes as an increasing number of European cities appoint night mayors of their own. In London, for instance, Amy Lamé has used her clout to help protect local LGBTQ venues, while Amsterdam's night czar Mirik Milan helped set up ten new 24-hour clubs in his city.
However Palitz decides to shape New York's nightlife, she'll have a good amount of firepower to get it done. On top of a $130,000 salary, she's directing a 12-person advisory board with a $300,000 budget. And no matter what she winds up doing with the job, we're just glad it didn't go to this guy.
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