Published
Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 17:50
- The unit was established in the '90s as a way to crack down on nightlife.
New York task force Multi-Agency Response to Community Hotspots, AKA M.A.R.C.H., has officially been disbanded.
The news was confirmed today, December 28th, during a press conference at Brooklyn club Paragon. M.A.R.C.H. was speculated to be behind random police searches at several Brooklyn venues earlier this year and has a longstanding history of "SWAT-like raids" of nightlife and cultural institutions.
"M.A.R.C.H. was the wrong way to go about it," Mayor Eric Adams told the press, calling the raids "abusive" and "intrusive."
To replace the programme, New York will implement C.U.R.E. (AKA Coordinating a United Resolution with Establishments), which will be led by the new executive director of nightlife, Jeffrey Garcia, and the Office of Nightlife. The New York Police Department's Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said C.U.R.E. will differ from M.A.R.C.H. by being a "solution-oriented" approach to nightlife safety and "enforcement will be a last resort."
John Barclay, owner of Paragon and Bossa Nova Civic Club, also spoke at the meeting. Having experienced raids at his venues and worked with the likes of former nightlife mayor Ariel Palitz and the NYC Artist Coalition, he called the end of M.A.R.C.H. a "step in the right direction."
M.A.R.C.H. was created in the '90s by New York's incumbent mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, under his various "quality of life" police initiatives. Led by the NYPD, the task force also included the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).
In 2017, organisations such as the NYC Artist Coalition, Dance Liberation Network and Legalize Dance NYC advocated for communication between the task force and nightlife authorities, while also pushing for less scrutiny from the police. The task force was required to follow certain rules when conducting inspections, including a 30-day warning, though some venues say these weren't adhered to.
We'll report more on this story as it unfolds.
Photo: Angus McIntyre