C
reated in 2018, the Ambassadors
of the Night Awards aim to centre
key people within the night-
time business sector who work to enact
change, improve their communities,
and strengthen cultural and economic
growth.
The awards contained special guests,
including Rafael Espinal Jr., NYC Council
Member, Candidate for Brooklyn
Borough President, Inspector Daryl Lyon
of Northamptonshire, and Ariel Palitz,
Nightlife Mayor for New York City.
Other features of the evening included
the spoken word poetry of Quinton
Green, a.k.a. ‘Mr Milise’, who performed
a piece called Knife Crime Sentence
that highlighted how gang crime is
embedded in our society, and comedian
Aurie Styla, who spoke on his personal
experiences in the night-time industry.
The winners of the awards were:
» Dan Davies of Rockpoint Leisure, for
outstanding work as chairperson
of the Institute of Licencing and
the regeneration of New Brighton,
Liverpool.
» Brighton Music Conference, for
supporting Electronic Dance Music
and the night-time economy within
Brighton.
» Michael Hughes of SVA Events, for
his contributions to the Urban/Dance
music scene.
» Inspector Daryl Lyons of
Northamptonshire, for work within
the CIRV Scheme and support of
young offenders and gangs.
» Amy Lame and The Mayor’s Office
London, for the Woman’s Night Safety
Charter Initiative.
» Leighton De Burca of Bristol
Placemaking/NTE, for supporting
Bristol’s night-time economy.
24
Take back the night
The second NTIA Ambassadors of the Night Awards took place on
2 December 2019 at The Hippodrome Casino, Leicester Square
WINTER | FEATURE
The Ambassadors…
1. Chief Inspector Daryl
Lyon of Northamptonshire
Chief Inspector Lyon spoke
on ‘The Success and the
future of the Community
Initiative to Reduce Violence
(CIRV) scheme’, highlighting
a darker side to night-time
industries.
Created in Boston,
Massachusetts, the scheme
was translated to Glasgow.
Northamptonshire marks the
first time the scheme has been
rolled out in England.
CIRV offers gang members
a choice – to leave gangs,
and be rehabilitated, or to
have their life disrupted
by the police – or worse.
Lyon explained: “The
programme is not an easy
way out for anyone, and it
requires a significant level of
commitment and hard work -
those engaged must commit
to leaving drugs and violence
behind."
It is therefore important
for CIRV members to be
available 24/7, to provide
young offenders with anything
they need to get out of gang
life, and to create a trusting
relationship with them.
CIRV will hopefully be rolled
out across other counties
soon.
2. Rafael Espinal Jr.,
NYC Council Member/
Candidate for Brooklyn
Borough President
Rafael Espinal Jr. was
elected to the New York City
Council in 2013, where he was
key to creating the Office of
Nightlife and the role of officer
of nightlife for NYC. Espinal
spoke on the importance
of the night-time industry
within cities: “NYC would not
have tourism if it wasn’t for
nightlife,” and with 25,000
restaurants and bars, New
York isn’t known as the ‘city
that never sleeps’ without
reason.
Espinal noted the
importance of those in
night-time industry becoming
part of the local community
and government in order
to solidify its position and
undo the damage done by
the association of night-time
businesses to drunkenness
and debauchery. So, he
created the city’s first-ever
Office of Nightlife, ensuring
there was a full-time advocate
for the night-time sector on
the New York city council.
This has enabled Espinal
to encourage legislation to
circumvent police raids on
nightlife business.
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