The NYPD has spoken. In response to last summer’s string of nightlife murders, the police department has unleashed a Russian-novel-length list of “best practices” that clubs should follow.

Straight from the mouth of the NYPD:

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Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and New York Nightlife Association President David Rabin  announced today a 58-point program of “Best Practices” to maintain safety in bars and clubs, and to combat violence, drug sales, underage drinking, over consumption of alcohol, prostitution and other illegal activity.

Commissioner Kelly also announced that the Police Department is conducting one-day training sessions for nightlife management and security personnel, focusing on the best practices, crime prevention, how to detain witnesses, how to handle conflict, how to defuse potentially volatile situations, and the use of force.

Full-day training sessions for about 400 police officers who routinely come into contact with bars and clubs have already occurred. The sessions addressed legal and practical issues as well as reviewing the best practices and the role of the State Liquor Authority in maintaining a safe nightlife atmosphere.

Last year, in the aftermath of the murders of Imette St. Guillen and Jennifer Moore, both the New York City Police Department and the City Council moved to address the issues of crime and disorder associated with the bars and clubs in New York City. 

The City Council enacted several pieces of helpful legislation, a result of the Council's Nightlife Security Summit, and the Police Department, working with the New York Nightlife Association, established a Working Group to address the issues.

“The adoption of best practices is a fitting tribute to the memories of Imette St. Guillen and Jennifer Moore,” said Commissioner Kelly.  “The establishment of best practices with the banking industry helped us combat a major spike in bank robberies. We hope that a similar program, with industry support, can help reduce crime associated with the nightlife industry,” he added. “Best practices do not guarantee that police will never be called to a bar or club because of a crime or disorderly condition.  But we believe that nightlife establishments which put best practices into effect will find that they will suffer fewer problems, and that their personnel will be better prepared to deal with incidents as they occur,” Commissioner Kelly said.

“The Best Practices for New York City’s nightlife establishments will ensure that New York remains the safest large city in America, both before and after dark,” said Speaker Quinn.  “These recommendations provide clear guidelines for bars, clubs, and the NYPD that will lead to safer nightlife industry standards. I want to thank the NYPD and New York Nightlife Association for acting on the Council’s request and working to find common ground.” 

“We hope this will only be the start of a new ongoing relationship to keep New York fun...and safe,” said David Rabin, President of the New York Nightlife Association. “Our Association stands ready to continue this dialogue with the Police and the City Council to keep New York City the nightlife capital of the world,” he added.

The Working Group members from the NYPD included: Assistant Chief Ed Young, Executive Officer, Chief of Department; Assistant Commissioner Susan Petito, Intergovernmental Affairs; Assistant Commissioner Robert Messner, Civil Enforcement Unit; Deputy Chief Brian Conroy, Commanding Officer, Vice Enforcement Division; Deputy Chief Stephen Paragallo, Executive Officer, PBMS; and Lt. Dennis Gannon, Office of Chief of Department.

From NYNA: President David Rabin, Lotus; Counsel Robert Bookman, Esq.; Mitchell Banchik, Mo’s Caribbean; Shawn Kolodny, Pink Elephant; Sandra Wright, Whiskey Ward; Paul Seres, SOL Edward Brady, BLVD; and Charles Hunt, NYS Restaurant Association.

There are 58 best practices in all. Forty-five apply to security, employees, age verification, club policies, and police-community relations. The other 13 pertain to reporting crimes, including physical and sexual assaults. They include: 

SECURITY

As a general guideline, there should be a minimum of one licensed and trained security guard in every premise when 75 or more patrons are present at the same time. For larger premises, there should be one such security guard for every 75 club patrons present. Any full time security supervisor shall be included when counting the total number of security guards employed. Discretion should be used by management to determine the appropriate number of security based on the event or crowd to ensure safety and lawfulness.

If the establishment uses the services of a security guard company rather than employing its own security guards, the security guard company must be licensed by the NYS Department of State.

Security guards should be trained in techniques to de-escalate potential violent encounters and difficult situations.  

Establishment policy should mandate that security separate and remove all potentially violent patrons in a manner, consistent with the law, that is designed to prevent a continuation of violent activity inside or outside the club. Establishments must call 911 to report criminal activity, and may call 911 or otherwise notify police for assistance in these circumstances.  Similarly, call 911 to report serious medical emergencies such as drug overdoses.

It is recommended that for every five (5) security guards there be one (1) security supervisor to ensure a minimum span of control of one (1) security supervisor for every five (5) subordinates.

It is recommended that security guards be distinctively and uniformly attired - very easily identified. 

It is recommended that security guards be spread throughout the establishment and not just at the door.

Coat check should include the customer’s ability to check bags.  It is recommended that establishments install anti-theft environmental designs such as drawers, shelves and hooks for customers who choose not to check bags.  Ensure control and order are maintained in coat check area, especially at closing time. Customers should be encouraged to check coats and bags so as to avoid thefts.

Perpetrators should be detained by security through lawful means. Witnesses should be encouraged to wait for the police to arrive in order to assist in the investigation. At a minimum, they should be asked to provide their identifying information so that they may be contacted by the police in the future.  They should also be encouraged to make a statement to establishment personnel regarding the incident, if the establishment so requests. Establishments should act as complainants in appropriate cases.

Establishments should encourage employee witnesses to go to court and testify when requested, and pay wages to them for their time.

Digital video of any unlawful conduct should be identified and provided to the NYPD when requested.

Identifying information on ejected and/or arrested patrons should be retained on a “banned list” database. These patrons should not be allowed subsequent re-entry.

It is recommended that properly working and maintained digital cameras be mounted in front of the establishment (both inside and outside), at all entry doors and outside the bathroom doors.

It is helpful to learn if all of these efforts are working. To that end, hire an independent security consultant to ensure club security and other laws and policies, including laws prohibiting sales to minors, are being adhered to. <

Remember that Seinfeld episode when George couldn’t have his “worlds colliding?” That’s a bit how I feel about this new development: Bottle Service is coming to Austin, Texas.

Now, I love Austin. I went to school in Austin. And now I live in New York and love bottle service. I like both these things.

I’m not sure I like them both together. Austin nightlife is about live music, tailgating for the Longhorns, and pitchers of cheap Shiner Bock. Now, apparently, it’s also about Grey Goose. From Austin360.com:

Full story after the jump.

Need the perfect gift for your 10-year-old niece? Well look no further. Check out this fantabulous new video from Crackle:

Along with 5,000 of my closest friends, I trekked deep, deep into the heart of Brooklyn to BACARDI’s B-Live on Saturday night, catching an epic set from Calle 13, Talib Kweli, and Sean Paul.

Before I go any further, some full disclosure: the event was produced by Clubplanet’s parent company, Track Entertainment, meaning that, well, if I didn’t like it, I’d be fired.

Happily, I don’t need to spin a damn thing: the concert killed. Normally at these kind of music festivals, each artist only gets maybe 30 minutes stage-time, performing just some truncated versions of their most crowd-friendly hits. Here? The Big 3 (Calle, Talib, Sean Paul) were each given over an hour to perform, so you actually got a rhythm, sustained energy. An ebb and flow for each set.

Calle 13 took the stage around eight o’clock and asked the question that we’d hear again and again all night: “Where Brooklyn At?!?!?” Now, maybe it’s just me, but when you think about it, can you really ask that question when you’re actually in Brooklyn? I was kinda hoping the crowd would respond back in unison, “Um, we’re in it.”
 
Anyway. Before Talib hit the stage, DJ Mark Ronson piped in a few tracks, getting the crowd good n’ crazy with—you can guess this one—yep, Kanye’s “Survivor.” (I think even my grandma knows to play “Survivor” in a mash-up set.) Ronson also thanked the crowd for coming and said a few words in a British accent (leading to a furious debate within CP of whether he actually is British or whether he’s just acting British to push his new British-friendly albums. For those of you scoring at home, he was born in London but grew to prominence in New York.) CP reporter Diana Kost was on the scene to record the above video; click it to learn why she's a writer, not a videographer.

An otherwise flawless production was interrupted, briefly, when two girls started cat-fighting in the front row. But even this turned out well: Talib actually stopped his act and told the bitches to knock it off; the crowd laughed and ate it up.

I spent most of my time with the Clubplanet TV crew, interviewing random concert-goers, “testing out” the Bacardi raspberry mojitos (they passed the test, but I drank several more just to ensure scientific accuracy), and saving our lovely hosts from getting hit on and groped. After all the posing and camera-phones, it’s possible our CPTV hosts will be on like 10,000 MySpace pages as of Tuesday morning. (Speaking of, stay tuned for the first few episodes of Clubplanet TV…)

I’ve heard Talib a million times on the radio (kids, to learn about this strange device called a “radio,” click here), but I’ve never seen him live. Night and day. Talib has a charisma, a stage-presence, that just doesn’t translate to MP3—he lit it up.

“Where Brooklyn At?!?  Where Brooklyn At!??!!?”

(We’re still here.)

Sean Paul closed things out with a 90-minute performance, highlighted (for me, at least, along with the other 2,500ish dudes in attendance) by his bootylicious dancers.

Want more? Click here for a massive, sprawling gallery of photos...