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Eric Adams is officially the only party pasha left in town for now. On Sunday night, Ariel Palitz, the founding director of New York’s Office of Nightlife, had her final party in the position at Lower East Side hot spot Mr. Purple. Mayor Adams was there to bid her farewell and give a speech praising Palitz for a job well done. He said, “People don’t come here because they want to go to sleep at night… She understood it. She navigated us through COVID. Can you imagine?”
Palitz then got on the mic and thanked Adams for having faith in her, and assured the crowd that “nightlife was in good hands with Mayor Adams.” A variety of people from the nightlife and hospitality industry attended the bash, including Melba Wilson, Baizy Keflay, Darin Rubell, Kurtis Blow, Richie Rich, Chris Reda, Tony Montana, Megan Rickerson, Aleksey Kernes and nightlife mayors from other cities.
Rich and Melba were in their element, dancing to DJ J Period and SONI withanEYE spinning tunes by Prince and Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl.” Palitz has held the role of nightlife mayor since former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s created the position in 2018. She announced back in February that she was stepping down “after five years, through two administrations, and a pandemic.”
Rich has already thrown his hat in the ring to be Palitz’s replacement. He told Page Six last month, “I’ve been preparing for this opportunity my whole life. I’ve seen the evolution of nightlife over the years, and I would love the chance to serve my city in a big way and make it go boom!”
For now, Eric Adams is the only party pasha left in town. Palitz has left a legacy of understanding and navigating the nightlife industry through difficult times, and she has encouraged potential replacements to apply for the gig. It will be interesting to see who takes up this challenge and who will be New York’s next Nightlife Mayor.
