NEW ORLEANS — It’s a new branch of city government that’s been in the works for years. The goal is to not only preserve New Orleans nightlife and culture, but to elevate them.
Jazz music, sounds New Orleans is known for, spilled out of The Maison on Frenchmen Street Monday. Those sounds are something partner Jeff Bromberger said are part of a much bigger harmony.
“I think it’s one of the top reasons people come to this city, the nightlife, the food, the culture," Bromberger said.
City hall is now listening a little closer to those sounds, the people who create them, and everyone else who help make up the city’s nightlife.
“Our cultural economy as a whole isn’t just that music. It’s food. It’s restaurants. It’s bars. It’s sous-chefs. It’s everybody here,” owner of The Howlin’ Wolf in the Warehouse District, Howie Kaplan said.
Monday, Kaplan was announced as the director of the city’s newly created Office of Nighttime Economy.
“Now what we get to do is we get to become a liaison between that cultural economy, those cultural bearers, and the city,” Kaplan said. “We get to be a fierce and vocal advocate for people that are doing this every day.”
Like Bromberger, who’s glad the entire city will be able to work together instead of independently.
“As a group of businesses here we have tried to promote the street and have tried to do things to make sure that we’re still here for years to come,” Bromberger said.
Created with half a million dollars approved by the city council, Kaplan said his office will bridge a gap between city-hall and the nightlife that plays out inside businesses and on the streets.
“In some estimates, it's over a fifth of our economic activity that happens after nine to five,” Schwartz said.
Director of economic development Jeff Schwartz said tourism, hospitality and cultural economies represent more than 75,000 jobs. Because of the pandemic, thousands are still vacant. With more than $1.5 billion in economic impact every year, Swartz said being tuned in to nightlife is crucial.
“This is big business. This is about the economy of this city. It’s about growing the diversity and the vibrancy of our city,” Schwartz said.
Back at The Maison, Bromberger hopes a new office means more thought when it comes to things like policies and ordinances governing nightlife. He knows it won’t be easy and looks forward to creating change that works for everyone.
“This is a great step forward to make that happen,” Bromberger said.
Kaplan said this won’t be an overreach of city government with things like enforcement but will help with things like guidance, education, and compliance. Other major cities like Seattle, Orlando and Washington D.C. already have similar positions.
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