Mayor signs repeal of NY dancing ban

NEW YORK: New York’s mayor on Monday signed into law the repeal of a 91-year- old piece of legislation that had technically banned dancing in thousands of bars, clubs and restaurants in the city.

The city council voted overwhelmingly on Oct 31 to axe the law, which had come into effect in 1926 during Prohibition and which campaigners decried as racist, saying it was used initially to crack down on Harlem’s jazz clubs, where blacks and whites mixed.

Campaigners say it was also used historically to target Hispanics and members of the LGBT community. In the 1990s, mayor Rudy Giuliani used the law to get tough on clubs in his fi ght against crime.

“It’s 2017 and this law just didn’t make sense. Nightlife is part of the New York melting pot that brings people together,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“We want to be a city where people can work hard, and enjoy their city’s nightlife without arcane bans on dancing.”

Although the law was rarely enforced in recent years, it required public spaces that sell food and drink to acquire near impossible-to- obtain permits to authorise dancing indoors or risk a fi ne.

Yet only around 100 of New York’s more than 22,000 bars, restaurants and clubs had the elusive permit.

Brooklyn Democratic councilman Rafael Espinal led the charge to repeal the law, saying it unfairly discriminated against small businesses.