Res. No. 626
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to require that the practice of bottle service be limited to circumstances where it is performed and monitored by a waiter or waitress and calling upon the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) to establish such monitored service as part of licensed alcohol-serving establishments' "best practices."
By Council Members Katz, Brewer, James, Palma, Recchia Jr., Gentile, Liu and White Jr.
Whereas, A vibrant, exciting nightlife is one of New York City's signature attributes, setting it apart from other municipalities and unquestionably contributing to New York's prominence among cities of the world; and
Whereas, One of the hallmarks of the City's nightlife experience is the nightclub, a venue in which revelers may come together to socialize, drink, dance, or eat; and
Whereas, Recent years have seen an explosion of nightclubs offering "bottle service," in which customers are required to purchase one or more expensive bottles of hard liquor, initially required to obtain access to an exclusive "VIP" lounge and now, with increasing regularity, simply to be permitted to enter the premises; and
Whereas, Bottle service is not the first entrance requirement proposed by nightlife establishments, as cover charges and drink purchase minimums are standard practices in the industry; and
Whereas, In contrast to cover charges and drink purchase minimums, this new iteration in nightlife entry protocol drastically increases patrons' incentive to drink intemperately and promotes dangerous levels of drunkenness; and
Whereas, An establishment's waiter or waitress' direct serving of alcohol purchased in a bottle service setting would allow the staff member to monitor alcohol consumption, discourage patrons from drinking alcohol if they should become dangerously intoxicated, and could significantly contribute to a safer, better supervised nightlife environment; and
Whereas, A recent spate of violent crime associated with excessive alcohol consumption has brought the matter of rampant drinking to the forefront of public concern, cultivating a growing concern that while nightlife is integral to New York City's social and economic development, it cannot be allowed to abet violence or encourage essentially self-destructive alcohol consumption; and
Whereas, The New York City Nightlife Summit, held on September 28, 2006, covered issues of excessive drinking, including bottle service; and
Whereas, In the wake of the Nightlife Summit, law enforcement officials and representatives of New York City's nightlife industry have agreed to work to establish "best practices" for the industry in areas including the prevention of underage and excessive drinking; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to require that the practice of bottle service be limited to circumstances where it is performed and monitored by a waiter or waitress and calling upon the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) to establish such monitored service as part of licensed alcohol-serving establishments' "best practices."
TSF
11/22/2006