New Clubland in NYC Garment District??

New York City
Picture exiting Penn Station and entering the Big Apples version of Bourbon Street New Orleans. It's nighttime in the usually desolate past dusk Garment District and nightlife shakers are dressed up to the nines, spilling out of cabs on their way to a series of mega clubs lining the block. A novel idea but if some community advocates have their way, a club district in the heart of Manhattan could be the next big thing for New York nightlife……

We have a problem in the city everybody wants to go out but nobody wants it in their neighborhood," said Tony Juliano, owner of the XES Lounge on W24th Street and a member of Community Board 4. Some members of his board as well as the adjacent Board 5 have decided to collaborate on the issue as a way identify common problems and solutions, including the creation of a possible nightlife district in Midtown for Manhattan's largest clubs.

John Englebert aka JE, owner of the West Chelsea nightclubs Prime and Suzie Wong, was also warm to the idea of a New Orleans style club confluence. "It's a great idea if the city would zero in and try to keep everything in one nightlife zone," he said, noting that the closest thing resembling a club district today lies where his clubs are, W27th and W28th Streets between 10th and 11th avenues in West Chelsea. "That Mardi gras feeling of bar and club hopping in New York City would be great. It would benefit everyone and it would be easier for the city by keeping and condensing all the drunken trouble that comes along with nightlife to one specific area." Englebert said

The Garment District is strongly being considered because of its proximity to transportation hubs in Penn Station and Times Square. It is primarily commercial and not residential. The noisy club patrons who empty into the streets in the wee hours wouldn't create disturbances for neighbors.