The Broster Times: Issue #17 - December 1, 2017 - Dancing Days are Here Again (Although I don't care for dancing)

Broster - A combination of a bro and a hipster. Has the party-loving attitude of a bro, the pretentious taste of a hipster, but is somewhere in between.

Recent News/Surprising History
Since 1926, there has existed in NYC a Cabaret Law that required any businesses in the city that sells food & drinks to obtain a cabaret license in order to host "musical entertainment, singing, dancing, or other forms of amusement." However on Monday, this law was officially repealed.

While the law was initially aimed at illegal speakeasies (enacted in Prohibition era), the law was often used in discriminating fashion. From targeting largely African American jazz venues at its inception to requiring mid-century musicians to carry a "cabaret card" to Rudy Giuliani's use of the law as part of his "broken windows" policing, the selective nature of its use has found many opponents, which is why the laws repeal was widely championed throughout the city.

NYC neighborhoods are zoned into three categories: residential, commercial and manufacturing. Within these zones are "use groups" determining specifically where and how businesses can operate within a zone. The repeal affects only businesses in areas zoned for commercial and manufacturing, where the cabaret licenses were available.

This is beneficial in cutting the red tape for business owners, and helpful for musicians booking more gigs I'd imagine. It also prevents any further aforementioned controversial use of this law.

It is reminiscent of Theodore Roosevelt's role as NYC police commissioner when he shut down saloons on Sundays in strict observance of the Sabbath Excise law. At the time this was not a respected or popular law, and saloons generally continued to stay open with proper bribing of police officers. The goal was to either get this law repealed as it benefitted no one but the corrupt cops and politicians who profited off of these bribes and to reduce endemic corruption in the NYPD.

Both unpopular laws creating unnecessary hassle and just really limiting some fun.