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Dancing is Not a Crime!
Saturday July 22, 2006 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm
description: an open-air dance and participatory movement event to bring attention to the antiquated & restrictive NYC cabaret laws

date: july 22nd
time: 2-4 pm
location: 79th & fifth (at the corner of Mayor Bloomberg's house)
cost: free
contact e-mail: info@metropolisinmotion.org
www.metropolisinmotion.org

Why we're doing this:
In 1926, New York City sought to limit interaction among the races and control "public lewdness" by clamping down on the jazz scenes found in Harlem and West 52nd Street (and later in the bohemian Greenwich Village). To this end, the City established Cabaret Laws that limited dancing to specially licensed public spaces serving food or drink where three or more persons congregated, and stipulated that only musicians "of good character" could be licensed to play. Over the years, musicians won the right to forgo licensing, but laws regulating dancing remain on the books. As part of his "Quality of Life" campaign, Mayor Rudolph Guiliani used the laws to crack down on bars and clubs without a license that allowed people to dance. Venues were fined, or worse, padlocked and closed forever. The laws continue to be enforced under Mayor Bloomberg, while his Administration gives lip service to repeal or reform. According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, there are currently only 244 actively legal places to dance in New York City, including strip joints and clubs.

Why are these laws still on the books? Some people say it's to enforce a vague notion of the "quality of life." Other people know it's to keep property values high, club owners with cabaret licenses rich, and ordinary people, otherwise known as the citizens of New York, "in line." And we don't mean a kick line.
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Outside Mayor Bloomberg's Home 79th st btw. 5th and Madison


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