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Save the Roxy

Just recieved this message on facebook... I won't be able to go but hopefully this could get some to maybe cause something to happen





This Tuesday, you have a real opportunity to stand up for New York
City nightlife, which has been increasingly under attack from a small
group of residents. These groups are fighting to end the city's legacy
as a global nightlife destination, attempting to allow fewer licenses
to be issued, closing bars early, and even shutting down some venues.

The historic Roxy nightclub is attempting to reopen, and their ability
to obtain a liquor license may be blocked by Chelsea's fringe
anti-nightlife activists. On Tuesday, you can attend Community Board
Four's Business Licenses & Permits Meeting and ask the Board to
preserve New York's outstanding nightlife.

Roxy could practically be designated a landmark, defined in New York
City as a structure at least thirty years old that possesses "...a
special character or special historical or aesthetic interest or value
as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of
the city, state, or nation," according to the Landmarks Preservation
Commission. Roxy first opened in the 1970s as a roller disco, and was
known as the 'Studio 54 of roller rinks,' whose guest list included
the 1980 US Mens Hockey Team, which had just won an Olympic Gold Medal
for the United States. In 1982, Roxy transformed into one of the
birthplaces of hip hop, showcasing hip hop pioneers as illustrious as
Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. My own memories are more
recent; I was a regular attendee of Roxy Saturdays, the John
Blair-sponsored gay night where icons like Madonna and Cher would
occasionally perform. Even beyond its cultural and historical
importance, though, Roxy was an absolute success story as a clubgoing
destination; it remains a beloved fixture in New York's nightlife and
has earned the right to reopen in the neighborhood that it has
fostered for over thirty years.

Beyond The Roxy's license problem, there is a disturbing trend first
reported last April in The New York Sun. "In most parts of Manhattan,
bar and club owners say, it has become nearly impossible to open new
nightlife establishments that are permitted to serve alcohol until 4
am." The "City That Never Sleeps" is under attack from those residents
who move into neighborhoods that have been revitalized in large part
by their vibrant nightlife, only to attempt gut that very nightlife
and turn the neighborhoods into the equivalent of suburban bedroom
communities. Unless we act now, we could see our 4am nightspots
dwindle off. Make your voice heard Tuesday.

This is more than a lifestyle concern; nightclubs and the businesses
that serve them bring over $10 billion in economic activity to New
York City and employ over 100,000 people. On Tuesday, tell the Board
that failure to grant full liquor licenses will effect thousands of
your friends and neighbors.

The fight won't be over Tuesday, though: please mark your calendars
for Wednesday, July 23rd, when the full board will meet to debate its
final recommendation to the State Liquor Authority. We need hundreds
of people, gay and otherwise, to come and show power in action. The
anti-nightlife frenzy of Community Board Four is destroying the
quality of life for thousands of people in our community. Let's
exercise our democratic rights and reopen Roxy.

I hope you'll join me at both meetings. Bring a friend. Bring five.
The future of New York City nightlife is in your hands. And hey, we
can all go out for some drinks afterwards. Hopefully we can find a
place nearby still open.

Meeting Details:

Community Board 4, Business Licenses & Permits Meeting, Tuesday, July
8th @ 6:30PM at The Westin Hotel (270 W. 43rd St.) in The Minetta
Room.

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008, 6:30 p.m, Roosevelt Hospital, 1000 Tenth
Av. (b. 58th / 59th)

Always,

Ryan J. Davis
[email protected]

PS: Want to help? Invite all your friends to this facebook event!

i though they closed down for good in like late 2006 or early 2007?

Man, re-opening the Roxy would be AWESOME!

quote:

Originally posted by Frequency Frank Man, re-opening the Roxy would be AWESOME!

+1000000. I love the roxy. My fav place in NYC so far!!

Didn't read the whole post... but i thought roxy was supposed to be a bunch of rubble/ashes by now? *PVD nostalgia moment*... good times.

""We need hundreds
of people, gay and otherwise""

Not that Im gay, or "otherwise"...but respect all people and what they do, should they not just say hundreds of people, and leave it at that?...

Roxy looks soo ghetto next to the IAC building .

I do not see this working.

quote:

Originally posted by vanditradio Didn't read the whole post... but i thought roxy was supposed to be a bunch of rubble/ashes by now? *PVD nostalgia moment*... good times.

idk about that but if this is really happening it would be sick because roxy was amazing. Firat time i ever went to see anything was pvd at roxy... and if it came back it could throw some sick parties

yeah this would be really great. from what it sounds, it SHOULD have landmark status!! aslo i dont get it, the roxy is FAR ENOUGH AWAY from residential areas or businesses in general so i cant see any viable reason to complain about any noise or disruptions in the neighborhood!

i hope that roxy re-opens

My nyc clubbing adventure began in 02 at roxy, seeing PVD.

quote:

Originally posted by Frequency Frank Man, re-opening the Roxy would be AWESOME!

had a feeling you were gonna say that lol... did we ever go there together back in the day with ryan?

quote:

Originally posted by Frequency Mike had a feeling you were gonna say that lol... did we ever go there together back in the day with ryan?

Haha, I don't think so. I know the three of us went to spirit and crobar, but I think that's it.

quote:

Originally posted by SebG My nyc clubbing adventure began in 03 at roxy, seeing AvB.

I'd love for the Roxy to open again.

quote:

Originally posted by reenteenteen i am not much for speaches but i am upset that shit holes in NYC get historical preservations but Roxy with 30 years of history cannot be saved just because yapppies feel like the space is residentually inapropriete while the zoning only changed few years back and them assholes feel like they own the part of town because they overpaid good money for their low square footage. whatever, all clubs keep closing with the best history and we cannot do anything to save any element of our past. Why cant any of the closed clubs get historic preservation??? it just sux staarting with studio 54 to the latest victim being Roxy and Avolon (Limelight), we dont have anything and everything is kept being taken away. I grew up in NYC clubs since early 90's and today there is not one club I can go back to have a drink and just get a recallection of my good old time. Wesbster Hall (turist hall) not included.

I posted this up on another forum on the same subject. I thought I'll share my feelings here too.

julian i am so feeling your statement. seriously.

But...i am meh so far about the 'born-again' clubs. so far none have really worked out in the *right* way and they have ALL closed - with the exception of Pacha. so far, WH is the only venue that has NOT been shut down and re-opened. I would HATE for Roxy to reopen but be a TOTALLY different club and have a totally different vibe than it was known for (aka being chopped up space-wise/catering more to VIP etc).

quote:

Originally posted by phoenixBEBE aslo i dont get it, the roxy is FAR ENOUGH AWAY from residential areas or businesses in general so i cant see any viable reason to complain about any noise or disruptions in the neighborhood!

times have changed around the block and down the block there are all new condos going up
if roxy opens back up and does its thing that would be great but i dont really think its going to happen
but man i would love to see pvd there one more time

quote:

Originally posted by AY STAR times have changed around the block and down the block there are all new condos going up if roxy opens back up and does its thing that would be great but i dont really think its going to happen but man i would love to see pvd there one more time

omg so would i andrew, so would i...

i faithfully went to MOST Roxy parties and all PVD gigs but ONE since Nov 2002 when it was still around...

hell, i dont even know why it closed in the first place. i mean it *was* a famed skating rink...and there are def not many of those around these days...i mean it could totally have a place in the neighborhood

quote:

Originally posted by reenteenteen . Why cant any of the closed clubs get historic preservation??? it just sux staarting with studio 54 to the latest victim being Roxy and Avolon (Limelight), we dont have anything and everything is kept being taken away. I grew up in NYC clubs since early 90's and today there is not one club I can go back to have a drink and just get a recallection of my good old time. Wesbster Hall (turist hall) not included.

historic preservation is for the building, not for the business inside. limelight is a landmarked building so its facade and major internal workings ain't going anywhere. ditto for webster hall which was landmarked last month. (santos' party house on lafayette -- which is hosting made's ete d'amour parties -- `was also a landmarked 3-4 years ago.)

if a business is faltering due to either its business model or outside pressures (like police scrutiny), an argument for historic preservation won't save it -- it can only save its architecture.

clubbers shouldn't be arguing from a preservationist perspective, but rather a zoning one. the real culprit is the massive scale of rezoning that began under giuliani and has continued unabated under bloombucks. areas formerly zoned for industrial or commercial purposes (or in coney island's case, amusements) have continually been rezoned as residential.

landmarking roxy, for example, might preserve the building but if street-level boutiques and bistros with condos above them start sprouting up around it, the chances that the roxy will function as a club/roller rink are zero.

personally, seeing a beloved older space turned into a gentrified yuppie permutation of its former self may be as disconcerting as if it were torn down -- when i walk by the palladium's former spot my stomach doesn't quite turn in the same way it does when i see john varvatos's wares inside cbgbs.

if people are unhappy, they should start bugging their state senators and city councilpersons (though they're usually in cahoots with any and all business interests) and start showing up at monthly community board meetings and making their voices heard when these decisions are going down. it's unlikely that that the tide can be turned, but an occasional battle might be won.

i honestly dont see this going in the right direction for roxy to be a club again if it does it will be some other upscale club
roxy itself i feel cannot survive week after week on such a huge space by not goin to bottle service not more edm music driven
times changed,neighborhood changed
and now with the highline park opening up later this year i think
iam sure some developers are already lookin at tryin to buy the land to build something there

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