New York Puts on its Dancing Shoes After Repeal of the 1927 Cabaret Law

For 91 years, dancing was practically illegal in New York City. The city is getting footloose, after the City Council repealed the 1927 Cabaret Law intended to control speakeasies.

1 minute read

November 8, 2017, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell

Angelina Pilarinos / Shutterstock

Entertainment venues across New York City celebrated this week, after the City Council voted to repeal the Cabaret Law—a remnant of prohibition approved in 1926 that limited the number of places where residents could legally gather to dance.

According to an article by Annie Correal that discusses a night of celebrations last weekend at clubs and restaurants around the city, the Cabaret Law was often used as a tool when previous administrations wanted to crackdown on nightlife of all kinds (Correal specifically references the Giuliani Administration).

Correal reports that the application process for a cabaret license was so onerous that "only 97 of the city’s roughly 25,000 eating and drinking establishments possessed cabaret licenses," at the time of the City Council's decision to repeal the law. "When the legislation is signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio, it will bring to a close an era when New York City was festooned with no-dancing signs, and multiply the places where people can openly get down," writes Correal.

Planetizen picked up news of the impending demise of the Cabaret Law in June 2017.

FULL STORY: Celebrating the End of the Cabaret Law (Where Else?) on the Dance Floor

Sunday, November 5, 2017 in The New York Times

Community / Economic Development Land Use New York New York City Cabaret Law Regulations Nightlife Nightclubs View More

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