SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — In her first State of the City address, Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens announced the creation of a brand new position in Syracuse’s government — a nightlife coordinator, also known as a night mayor.
The point of the position is to revamp Salt City’s entertainment and nightlife to retain youth in the city who are leaving Syracuse in droves in their 20s.
“Having a vibrant nightlife with entertainment options really allows for cities to thrive,” said Director of Business Development Brianca Hill.
With Micron coming into the city, ensuring that the Syracuse has the capacity to capitalize on tourism becomes a top priority, Hill continued.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure we’re able to take advantage of whatever revenue might generate from having those options,” Hill said.
One of those options Hill is talking about is the 443 Social Club run by Julie Leone, who has been calling for a nightlife coordinator for some time.
“The idea of a night mayor is to have somebody who’s kind of a liaison between those two (government and city) parties, so you’re kind of trying to promote and elevate nightlife businesses. So it is a great idea,” Leone said.
The implementation of a night mayor will help businesses like the 443 Social Club, but it may not address all the problems of running an entertainment business here in the Salt City.
Permitting has been a major problem for Leone and her colleagues.
“A year ago, the city went from requiring us to get a single annual entertainment license to present live music to requiring that we do one for every single show we do,” Leone said.
In a statement from the city, the permitting department challenged Leone’s claims.
“The city of Syracuse has heard the complaints from business owners who hold concerts throughout the year and need to apply for a separate license for each occurrence. This requirement is part of city ordinance and has been in place for many years.”
However, the city admitted the system needed an update.
“As we work to improve efficiencies in our permitting and licensing process, we are creating a simpler, easier entertainment license ordinance to present to Common Council for approval, one that will benefit our business community and keep our residents safe.” said Jessica Brandt, a representative for the city’s permitting office.
It’s just one issue that the new night mayor will need to address for a successful term in office.