Mayor's Nightlife Impact Study Results

(released 1/28/2019)


The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment announced January 24, 2019 in a release the results from the first ever economic impact study of NYC nightlife. Nightlife in this study is defined as activity occurring between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in five key subsectors: Food Service, Bars, Arts and Culture, Venues, and Sports and Recreation.

"We have long known that nightlife is a fundamental part of New York City's culture and identity. Now we can also measure exactly how vital it is to our economy," said Senior Executive Director of the Office of Nightlife, Ariel Palitz.  "Nightlife is thriving in the five boroughs, as New Yorkers find places to come together, to let go, and to celebrate life. We are excited to use the valuable insight provided in this study as well as our recent listening tour as we pursue policies and programs to help nightlife thrive."

Arts is defined as galleries, museums, live performing arts spaces and movie theaters. Venues is defined as music venues as well as independent and DIY spaces. The arts subsector has 1,800 establishments and supports 18,300 jobs, $804 million in employee compensation, and $3.1B in economic output.Venues as a sector are responsible for 19,900 jobs, $373M in employee compensation, and $1.2B in economic output, according to the report produced for the Mayor's Office.

During this report, 187 artists were surveyed and had an average of 23 years tenure in the role. Over half of the respondents were employed full time in the craft and 40 percent were part time in a non-related industry. Of the artists surveyed, 28 percent reported performing at three to five establishments at the time of the survey. Another 23 percent were performing at six or more establishments. Despite challenges artists and entertainers surveyed, over three fourths believe they will still be working in the NYC nightlife industry in the next three years.

The report looks into data up to 2016. The five boroughs in five subsections of study that make up NYC nightlife created  299,000 jobs, 13.1 billion in employee compensations and 35.1 billion in total economic output. There are currently more than 25,000 nightlife establishments contributing $697 million in local tax revenue.

To review the report in full and see more details go to: www1.nyc.gov

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