De Blasio disagrees with drinking in public, OK with dancing

Mayor Bill de Blasio panned a plan by his own nightlife advisory board that would allow New Yorkers to openly dance and drink outdoors.

“I smile on dancing. I don’t smile on drinking in public places,” de Blasio said during his daily press briefing Monday when asked about The Post’s front page story on the subject.

“I think there needs to be some really clear laws and standards,” he said. “I think what we have now is pretty much the right way to go.”

In a report issued last week, the NAB — established by de Blasio in 2017 — offered ideas on how to boost New York’s nightlife and maintain good relationships between hotspots and their residential neighbors.

Among the NAB’s suggestions, under a section labeled, “Nightlife Beyond Bars and Clubs,” was taking the party outside.

“New Yorkers need affordable options for all kinds of nightlife,” the proposal says. “In most global cities people can gather informally in squares and parks to drink with friends and even dance to the rhythm of impromptu concerts.

“Drinking in the public space and dancing anywhere in the city should be regulated but not prohibited.”

Drinking outdoors is illegal, although it was not regularly enforced during the pandemic, according to reports.

In 2017 the city repealed a Prohibition-era law that prohibited dancing in many public places.

But de Blasio’s unfavorable view of public drinking has not shut down the raucous partygoers who have taken over Washington Square Park in recent months.

Cops have cracked down only intermittently on the dance parties where revelers openly drink beer and cocktails that are illegaly sold near the park’s famed fountain.

Although the ideas in the 13-page report were formed pre-COVID, hospitality honcho and NAB member Andrew Rigie said loosening drinking and dancing regulations could actually improve quality of life issues.

“This is one of the 15 important recommendations that were developed pre-pandemic, and if done properly, identifying public spaces where people can socialize with alcohol, dance and have cultural programming could improve quality of life and attract visitors, and is worth considering,” said Rigie, who chairs the New York City Hospitality Alliance.

Other recommendations include opening city-owned buildings for afterhours rehearsals or performances, pre-scheduling inspections of bars and clubs and providing security guards of nightlife establishments with training for active-shooter situations.

The City Council is examining the ideas.

“We recognize the importance of nightlife to this city’s economy and will continue to work with the industry as we rebuild post-COVID,” a rep for Council Speaker Corey Johnson told The Post. Meanwhile the mayor’s office has distanced itself from the report calling the board “a separate and independent body,” even though one-third of the 15 members are de Blasio appointees.