NEW CLUB ON THE BLOCK
Feb 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Justin Kleinfeld
With a rich history of clubbing, New York City has always been one of the best party spots in the world. From the days of classic older clubs such as Paradise Garage to the more contemporary Twilo, the city has always been the launching point for the dance-music phenomenon in America. However, in 2001, thanks to a much-publicized clubbing witch-hunt by former mayor Rudolph Giuliani, some of the city's finest clubs were either closed or had oppressive restrictions placed upon them. The city did suffer for a number of years, but thanks to the opening of large clubs like Crobar, Spirit and Avalon, and smaller venues like Cielo, APT and Sullivan Room, New York City is back in its rightful spot as one of the world's clubbing capitals. Just to make sure that these clubs don't get too comfortable, the bar has been raised once again by new kid on the block Pacha N.Y.
The North American spawn of one of the world's most well-known clubbing brands, Pacha N.Y. is a 30,000-square-foot nightclub and event space comprising four levels, each featuring unique décor and varied capacities. The buzz surrounding the club's December 7 invite-only opening was deafening and attracted an overflow crowd of industry personnel, models and clubbers. DJs Louie Vega, Todd Terry and Pete Tong took advantage of the club's intimate main room and connected with the crowd in a way that you normally don't see in large clubs. Perhaps the most telling moment of the evening was witnessing a dancefloor full of people — dancing. All too often, New York City clubs are filled with people just standing around socializing. On this night at Pacha, the people let their dancing do all the talking.
Two days later, the club's public opening was almost more successful than Pacha owner Eddie Dean had bargained for, as the club overflowed with people inside and out. It did have its dark moments harking back to the Giuliani days. But as a reaction to a NYPD welcoming committee at 2 a.m., Dean offered ticket-holders free admission on any night the club is open throughout December and complimentary admission on another night and a free bottle to anyone who had a table reservation cut short. It was a small bump in the road in what looks to be a very successful run for the new club. As for the overall New York club scene, competition like Pacha only makes everyone else work a little bit harder; the real winners here are the clubbers.
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