night mayor is a 2009 short film by guy maddin , about a fictional inventor in winnipeg who uses the aurora borealis to broadcast images of canada from coast to coast in 1939 , until the canadian government shuts down his illegal project .

the national film board of canada ( nfb ) , which was founded in 1939 , commissioned maddin to create a film for its 70th anniversary .

in making night mayor , maddin was inspired by his experience researching the nfb 's film archives for his 2007 film , my winnipeg , stating : “ i lost myself for hours , days even , among those dreamy images , constantly finding shots and sequences i ’d have been very proud to have created myself . so i had to content myself with including them in this new film board project , and hopefully magicking together a framework that was worthy of them . ” the film 's main character uses a fictional device called the " telemelodium " to broadcast his images , which is based on the telharmonium , an early electronic musical instrument .

night mayor was produced by the nfb in winnipeg and received the best experimental short award at the 2010 south by southwest festival .

it premiered at the toronto international film festival .

night mayor

night mayor <EOT> a prominent nightlife operator is campaigning to be the city ' s new " night mayor . "

the night mayor helps us understand the issues better , from all sides . it makes a real difference in amsterdam

the night mayor summit is a two - day event where night mayors , civil servants , entrepreneurs , the creative industries and research institutions connect with each other . during the entire conference there are five main themes : night time economy , public health & politics , redefining urban spaces , mobility en road to night mayor .

the output of the event will the that the participants have an clear view on how to install the role of the night mayor in their city and have a bag full of idea’s on which the newly installed night mayor could work on .

an article on thursday about new york city’s new director of night life erroneously included one european city on a list of those with similar positions , commonly known as “night mayors . ” berlin does not have a night mayor .

in 2016 the first night mayor summit will be held in amsterdam , an international conference on the economic and cultural value of ‘the night’ . the conference where nighttime professionals will meet , parallel to the official mayor conference in amsterdam where the mayors of all eu capitals will gather .

horse meat disco is a popular gay club night in london . the city’s night mayor has backed campaigns to protect a number of l . g . b . t . q . venues from closure .

just before 10 p . m . on tuesday night , in front of a packed crowd at bushwick ' s house of yes , mayor bill de blasio signed a law establishing the country ' s first ever office of nightlife , to be headed by a yet - to - be named " night mayor . "

bushwick — a very square mayor turned up at the ultra - hip house of yes tuesday night to announce the creation of the city ' s office of the nightlife — headed up by a soon - to - be - appointed night mayor , or party ambassador for bars , clubs and venues across the city .

former webster hall director gerard mcnamee will turn new york into the " largest and longest running party " on earth if he ' s appointed " night mayor . "

amsterdam’s first politician - of - the - night wants revellers to ‘stay classy’ and local residents to be happy . as london joins the growing band of cities imitating the idea , jon henley goes out on patrol with the original night mayor

however , like amsterdam’s night mayor , ms . lamé emphasized that her role goes beyond pubs and clubs . “i realized from the beginning this is much bigger than just night life , this job is about life at night , which encompasses every aspect of life in london , ” ms . lamé said .

this week the mayor of london , boris johnson , announced plans for a “night - time commission” , a six - month assessment of how to protect and manage the city’s £66bn night - time economy which is likely to recommend the creation of a “ night - time champion ” role . berlin is considering it too , and in april , amsterdam will host the first global night mayors’ summit .

mayor bill de blasio signed the legislation at house of yes tuesday night in bushwick surrounded by marky ramone , drummer for the ramones , and jazz double - bassist ron carter .

a sign warns tourists of an extremely dangerous drug being sold as cocaine . it’s hoped the night mayor and hosts will make the city safer . photograph : peter dejong / ap

former webster hall director gerard mcnamee went to the new york city council chambers at city hall in manhattan to campaign for the " night mayor " job . ( phoebe de vito )

talking to these hosts is mirik milan , the first nachtburgemeester – or night mayor – of amsterdam . his job is a tricky one : nurturing the dutch city’s ever - expanding night economy , while satisfying residents and public officials who would sometimes rather it didn’t exist .

the idea for night mayor — pitched to the city council by councilman rafael espinal , who represents parts of bushwick and east new york — comes from european cities like amsterdam , london and paris .

it’s the role of the night mayor to bridge this gap . the incumbent’s job is to manage and improve relations between night businesses , residents , and city hall . milan and his team have proved so successful in amsterdam that the concept has taken off internationally . paris , toulouse , and zurich now all have night mayors , while london and berlin are considering creating their own . within the netherlands two other cities , groningen and nijmegen , also have their own professional nocturnal managers , part of a total of 15 dutch municipalities that have some form of night mayor role .

the night as a product is more and more important for the profiling and image of cities and areas . both in the social economic and cultural area day and night are getting more intertwined .

day and night : amsterdam mayors eberhard van der laan and mirik milan . photograph : jon henley

this april , all these forces are coming together , when amsterdam hosts the world’s first ever night mayor’s summit . open to any city that’s interested in the role—it comes the day after an international conference for , uh , regular mayors—the event looks forward to a day when night mayors could one day become standard in all major cities .

for the problematic rembrandtplein , where up to 300 violent incidents were being reported every year , the night mayor and amsterdam city hall came up with a three - year pilot project inspired by the altogether more relaxed atmosphere of a music festival .

the idea quickly began spreading to other european cities . paris and toulouse , france , as well as zurich , switzerland , each created their own night mayor positions . last year , cali , colombia , became the first latin american city to get one .

the result is not just less disturbance , but a resurgence for amsterdam’s reputation as a nightlife capital . the night mayor isn’t necessarily all about getting people to party longer and louder , however . in rembrandtplein , a bar - filled square in central amsterdam , the mayor’s office has set up a project to manage and reduce street noise by introducing rules for behavior and a ( very ) soft enforcement service—dubbed “square hosts . ”

already , the night mayor’s office has done some good in amsterdam , often using arguments that might not occur to a standard elected official . for instance , milan has pointed out that by extending hours of business , a city can actually reduce rather than increase disturbance .

the hope with these initiatives is that they start with a night mayor focused on culture and then mature to tackle bigger issues like workers rights , transport , waste management and planning — all the necessary infrastructural elements that make working or living in a city after dark accessible .

mcnamee also says that he ' s headed to europe in september to meet with amy lamé , who holds a similar position in london ; clément léon r , who has the gig in paris , and mirik milan , who is the " night mayor " in amsterdam .

“the role of the director of night life will be to create a plan for cities and establishments so that they may coexist and to actively develop the cultural and monetary growth night life contributes to new york city , ” mr . espinal said .

defiant on the dance floor : l . g . b . t . q . night life in new york , 2017

the office of the " night mayor " — a preferable title , in our opinion , though we ' d also accept night czar , party mayor , or the d . o . n . — is to act as a liaison between city hall and new york ' s $ 10 billion nightlife industry , and to help resolve problems between venues and neighboring residents . the other purpose of this office , according to councilmember rafael espinal , will be to serve on behalf of the city’s diy venues , and to fight back against the archaic rules and arbitrary enforcement that threaten their survival .

" your mayor , city council and city manager has just as much of an impact on your health as your doctor , " say the authors of a new report .

the office of nightlife will have an estimated annual budget of $ 407 , 000 , including $ 37 , 000 for office space , supplies and computers , as well as $ 370 , 000 to pay the night mayor and an assistant director of the office , according to a financial impact statement .

the title of night mayor may sound grand , but the office itself doesn’t hold any executive power . milan is really the head of a small advisory ngo , “elected” by a combination of online votes from the public , attendees of a music festival , and a jury of five experts . equally funded by the city and night businesses , milan and night mayors like him are really go - betweens who represent nightlife to the city and its residents , and vice versa—self - defined “rebels in suits” who are nonetheless able to talk to officials on their own terms .

michele acuto , a professor of urban theory at university college london , said that night mayors are more than a ceremonial role . “the concept of a nighttime economy is longer lived than the recent trend of night mayors , ” he said . “that’s where the real value lies . it’s a sign by a city like new york or london that it is thinking strategically about the night . ”

amsterdam’s new rules of the night : ‘stay classy , think neighbours , drink inside and use a loo . ’ photograph : graeme robertson

pittsburgh got its first “nighttime economy coordinator” three years ago , around the time milan started in amsterdam . orlando fla . , recently created a “bar czar” position . fort lauderdale , fla . , apportioned $ 1 . 4 million this year for a nighttime management team . and iowa city appointed its first night mayor in april .

if we have a problem at night the first thing policymakers will often do is say : ‘we can ' t do it anymore . ’

the city council approved mr . espinal’s bill on august 24 to establish an office of nightlife and a 12 - member appointed nightlife advisory board . the city’s mayor , bill de blasio , will appoint someone within 60 days to head up the department , which will liaise between the city’s night life industry , its residents and government , according to the bill .

" it ' s going to be even better in a place as cool as new york city , " the mayor said , as a few dozen costumed guests , and one large peacock , filed into an adjacent room for a bordello - themed poetry night . " bottom line is this will help our neighborhoods , and help our nightlife community feel supported . "

as amsterdam’s first " night mayor , " he ' s been managing the after - hours economy of the netherlands capital since 2014 . his job seems straightforward and imminently practical - - milan manages relationships in an effort to minimize quality - of - life complaints from residents and boost nighttime business - - yet no one else on the european continent was doing it .

to solve this problem , the night mayor suggested not less , but more time for people to go clubbing . he has helped push through the granting of 10 24 - hour licenses for nightclubs . crucially , all of them were located not in the dense city center but in thinly populated districts around amsterdam’s outer ring road . the result was a marked reduction in street noise .

this pragmatic and classically dutch notion is now being copied across europe : toulouse , zurich , paris as well as several other dutch cities have night mayors too .

“the idea , ” milan says , “was to take some of the night - time pressure off the inner city , and to bring something new to the near suburbs . ” that part has worked : de school has sold out every weekend since it opened , while its weekday and night activities are also filling fast .

we ' ve reached out to the day mayor to see how he is planning to work alongside his nightlife counterpart , who he plans on appointing , and whether he’ll continue to enforce the reviled cabaret law — we’ll update accordingly .

“the night is always treated differently to the day , ” he said . “when there is a problem at night , the first reaction of city officials or police commissioners is to stop it . instead what you would do in the day is bring all the stakeholders together and try to at least make the situation a bit better . ”

addressing one hundred or so venue owners , promoters , party advocates and artists , including marky ramone , the mayor lamented the city ' s past harassment of nightlife , and promised that the new office would " wield tremendous power . "

the most established example that new york will look to is amsterdam’s “nachtburgemeester , ” a position established in 2003 when the dutch capital’s night life was in decline . mirik milan , 36 and a former nightclub promoter , was elected in 2012 and tasked with sustaining amsterdam’s night life while still appeasing local residents . mr . milan said one of his biggest hurdles has been convincing city officials that night life is about more than just partying . even in the famously open - minded netherlands , this has been a challenge .

in june , a spokeswoman for the mayor ' s office of media and entertainment announced that the search for a nightlife ambassador was underway and that the appointee would serve as a liaison between city officials and the booming bar and club scene .

“night mayors , ” as they are commonly known , are popular in europe , where these figures are chiefly concerned with how people can have a good time after dark in their cities . london , paris and zurich all have them — and now the initiative is making its way to new york , where night life is in great need of attention .

“that’s also really driving this increased interest in night managers , ” peters says . “how do you develop and keep the creative and cultural experiences that people want in a city ? ”

as milan explains , this helps refine the reactions of officials whose experience of the city after dark is limited or buried in their past . “we ' re a small ngo , so we don ' t have any power , but we try to influence people—to be that bridge between all the parties , ” he says . “when it comes to night culture , there ' s always a lot of misunderstanding . the night is always treated differently to the day . if we have a problem at night the first thing policymakers will often do is say : ‘we can ' t do it anymore . ’ they decide to ban things and end up killing an industry . our role is to explain why the night is so important . ”

do big cities need a “chinatown for night culture” ? this is a concept currently being explored in amsterdam by former club promoter mirik milan . by creating special districts for after - dark businesses , the 35 - year - old milan suggests , cities like his hometown could balance many local desires for a lively night life with the wishes of others for peace and quiet .

in london , mayor sadiq khan appointed american - born british performer and comedian amy lamé as the city’s first “night czar” in november 2016 . much of lamé’s work so far has been around night life entertainment , which is unsurprising given her 22 years of experience in the sector . she backed campaigns to protect a number of l . g . b . t . venues from closure , including the royal vauxhall tavern in south london and molly moggs in soho . research from university college london found that in the last ten years , london lost 58 percent of what the report defines as l . g . b . t . venues .

as envisioned by councilmember rafael espinal , the night mayor is meant to act as a liaison between city hall and new york ' s $ 10 billion nightlife industry , while also serving on behalf of the city ' s remaining diy venues ( espinal specifically cites shea stadium ' s closing as the inspiration for his bill ) . in recent years , at least 30 cities across the world have established similar positions , all of them based off amsterdam ' s widely praised nachtburgemeester .

“cities increasingly want to be 24 - hour , ” van der laan says . “in some respects many already are , though few really cater for it . but cities also have to stay nice places for the people who work , live and sleep in them . it’s not always an easy balance to strike . the night mayor helps us understand the issues better , from all sides , and come up with innovative solutions – like 24 - hour licences . everyone benefits . it makes a real difference in amsterdam . ”

the bill will also establish a nightlife advisory board comprised of 12 relevant stakeholders , ranging from industry service workers to zoning experts . eight of those board members will be appointed by the city council speaker , four will be appointed by the mayor , and they ' ll each serve a two - year term .

the instinct of city authorities everywhere when residents complain , milan says , is to “bring in a curfew , tighten regulations , shut places down , ban stuff . it’s understandable : how can you make good laws if you’re in city hall , with no real clue of what’s happening out there in the night - time ? the only way is for the night economy , city hall and residents to figure out , together , how to make it work” .

assuming a city council vote goes as it’s expected , new yorkers will soon be getting their own city hall advocate for sensible nightlife policies . a bill poised to pass the council later this afternoon would give mayor de blasio two months to appoint a director of nightlife , who will oversee the newly - established office of nightlife .

opening an exhibition including twin portraits of himself and milan in a canalside art gallery earlier in the day , amsterdam’s altogether more august day mayor , eberhard van der laan , was equally enthusiastic . the nachtburgemeester , he says , was about smoothing problems , finding solutions , and helping an increasingly important part of the city’s economy grow .

amsterdam is the front runner in innovating the night and values sharing the knowledge and experiences regarding nightly matters with other cities . topics such as creative industry , art and culture , diversity , safety , human health and mobility will be discussed .

" [ nightlife ] is part of the magic of new york city , " said mayor bill de blasio , flanked by former ramones drummer marky ramone and jazz double - bassist ron carter , at the wyckoff avenue venue . " where the culture happens is essential . without the venues , the culture simply can ' t exist . "

" we had the mayor three feet from [ councilmember ] espinal while he shouted out shea stadium and 285 kent and death by audio — places that had to operate in an underground way because of the city ' s regulations , " patrick added . " it doesn ' t change everything , but it ' s a good first step . "

america ' s first night mayor is the manifestation of a growing nightlife advocacy movement , largely driven by recent efforts to get rid of nyc ' s reviled cabaret law . though de blasio didn ' t mention it tuesday , a mayoral advisor threw city hall ' s support behind the repeal effort during a city council hearing last week , on the condition that certain security requirements be met . between january of 2016 and april of 2017 , 36 city bars and restaurants forked over around $ 40 , 000 in fines to the state for allowing patrons to dance without a license , according to dnainfo .

as cities become increasingly 24 - hour and night - time economies grow in scale – the dutch dance industry alone , focused on amsterdam , is worth €600m ( £470m ) a year ( pdf ) and employs 13 , 000 people full - and part - time – it is a job that needs doing . “late - night culture is a massive motor for cities’ economic wellbeing , ” says milan , who has been invited as far afield as tokyo and rio de janeiro to talk about the amsterdam approach .

in espinal ' s vision , america ' s first " night mayor " would help promote the interests of the mixed - use , and sometimes less - than - legal , show space . " my main motivation to push for this office is to make sure that the diy venues and the smaller venues that actually provide a hub for artists and musicians to come together and express their art are able to survive , " espinal said in may . he noted that the shuttering of shea stadium — a beloved bushwick venue that folded in june due to increasing pressure from local authorities — was a perfect example of where the position could prove useful .

amsterdam’s 24 - hour venues may eventually usher in whole 24 - hour districts “like a chinatown for night culture , where businesses can open and close when they like , ” milan says . after 9pm in amsterdam there is nowhere to have a proper , sit - down meal .

the idea might sound ambitious , but then forward - thinking about amsterdam after dark is actually milan’s job : he’s the dutch capital’s “night mayor . ” this innovative office , unique to amsterdam when created in 2014 ( as the development of a project itself begun in 2003 ) , has helped to clear up a blind spot that many cities face . too often , public officials view their city’s nighttime existence with suspicion—as a sinister doppelgänger of its daytime form but with added sex and crime , sleep - spoiling noise , and sidewalks slicked with vomit . even liberal politicians can have little experience with this twilight zone , given that they’re often tucked up in bed by 10 p . m .

“late - night people are typically young , educated , creative , entrepreneurial – people you want in your city , and who work in the creative industries and startups you also want . if places like berlin have flourished , it’s not just because of low rents . it’s because they’re nightlife capitals . ”

ideas for easing city tensions between day and night in amsterdam – whose nightlife is one of the major attractions for the 5 . 2 million tourists who visited in 2014 , more than double the number in 2000 – go further than soothing residents around the city’s main nightlife hotspots of rembrandtplein and nearby leidseplein .

milan’s defense of the night is one worth listening to . the resurgence of cities such as berlin may be due in part to lower rents , but without its busy night scene , few would have expressed much interest in the city in the first place . indeed , one key argument put forward for the new 24 - hour club licenses was the regenerative effect they could have on far - flung neighborhoods . given milan’s attempts to influence amsterdam’s city hall , it’s perhaps wise that he tots up nightlife’s benefits in primarily economic terms like these—terms that other cities with strict curfews and nocturnal regulations would do well to listen to .

“i don’t want to have an occupancy issue at a bar and not have anyone able to come out until the following night when there’s no issue , " says city manager lee r . feldman . " we need to have someone available at 1 in the morning to address the issue on the spot . ”

“if you don’t turn the lights on and force everyone to leave a club at 5am , some will leave at 3 , and some at 8 , ” says milan . “the night can end more naturally . it’s better for the area , nuisance - wise , and for the club , business - wise . ”

" what happens when you bring a bunch of people into the city center ? a lot of them want to go out at night , and other people want to sleep , " says jim peters , president of the responsible hospitality institute ( rhi ) , who has consulted with dozens of cities interested in the idea .

the after - hours heart of a city famed around the world for night - time excess , this 17th - century square was , until recently , often overrun . noise , violence , vomit and worse ; nocturnal nuisance ugly enough for an angry , sleep - deprived neighbourhood to speak bitterly of a “4am war zone” .

" i think there ' s a necessity for the city , on an institutional level , to endorse the fact that nightlife is important , even if that endorsement may be by definition lip service , " todd patrick , owner of the oft - raided market hotel , told gothamist . " the reality is this is a city with a lot of moving parts in the way regulation works , so for folks that are carrying out enforcement to see the mayor supporting us has real consequences . "

new york city is about to get a new kind of don , a title once reserved for the city’s crime bosses . in a move that follows in the footsteps of a clutch of european cities , new york is to appoint a director of night life , or a don — an ambassador tasked with giving after - dark activities a more congenial reputation .

the raw figures go someway to justify the need for a night czar : london’s nighttime economy is worth an estimated £26 billion ( $ 34 billion ) . “we ignore this at our peril , ” ms . lamé said . “we are facing an uncertain future with brexit , and we have an opportunity to really craft and create a dynamic , balanced 24 - hour london . ”

as we first reported in may , the bill is modeled after amsterdam ' s nachtburgemeester , a former party promoter whose appointment has had “transformative” results , according to the economist . since then , similar " night mayors " have found success in berlin , zurich , paris , and london , each with varying mandates based on the particular needs of the city ' s after - hours businesses .

“in the nighttime economy , there ' s a lot of talent , ” he says . “think of all the graphic designers , party promoters , djs—all these people that use the night as a serious playground to develop their skills and in the end , have their daytime job . definitely the creative industries are really important for europe and especially for cities like amsterdam or berlin , but actually for everywhere in the world . ”

the bill is intended to help the city’s struggling music venues , in particular its smaller ones , 20 percent of which have closed in the last 15 years because of rising real estate prices , zoning pressures , noise complaints and licensing problems , according to a recent report by the mayor’s office of media and entertainment . cbgb , the east village institution where the ramones and blondie had frequently played , closed in 2006 ; bungalow 8 in chelsea shut down in 2009 ; and the venue shea stadium , an epicenter of brooklyn’s d . i . y . music scene , shuttered this year after losing its lease .

acuto said that new york is now following in the footsteps of london and amsterdam by creating a formal mechanism for operating as a 24 - hour city . “there’s a whole infrastructure for the city that goes for 24 hours , ” he said , pointing to fact that while london’s nighttime entertainment industry is estimated to employ just under 50 , 000 people , its health and social care industry provides over 100 , 000 jobs at night , as does the transport sector .

this short guy maddin film tells the story of inventor nihad ademi , who harnesses the power of the aurora borealis in winnipeg in 1939 . ademi uses this power to broadcast images of canada to its own citizens from coast to coast , but in the process angers he the government .

this film contains scenes of nudity and / or sexuality . viewer discretion is advised .

svg public " - / / w3c / / dtd svg 1 . 1 / / en " " urltoken "

this is a very . . . different film . maddin used lighting very well and his quick shots weren ' t very hard to follow .

guy maddin is either certifiable , or a complete genius . in a 100 years time , they will count this very strange film maker as a genius . come join us on the beach at gimli to watch one of his films . that has to be one of the most unique things on the planet .

“i think that to really build a 24 / 7 economic system in amsterdam , we should focus on creating one 24 - hour area in the city , ” milan tells citylab . “you could have working spaces there , and a library open 24 hours a day for students . it would also be a place for food . in holland you can ' t have a proper meal after 9 . 30 p . m . , and when friends arrive late from out of town , all you can really offer them is fries . ”

until recently , amsterdam enforced what by continental european standards is a fairly strict curfew : nightclubs had to close by 4 a . m . on weekdays and 5 a . m . on weekends . the city often had problems with noise and disorder at the exact moment when all the clubs closed , filling narrow inner city streets with rowdy people .

“often people in nightclubs don ' t want to go home at 4 a . m . —only some of them do , ” says milan . “by having free opening hours the club can decide when they want to open and close , which means that 1 , 000 people aren ' t suddenly thrown out on to the street at five in the morning . instead , they start leaving in a steady , manageable stream around 3 a . m . and continue until around 8 a . m . that ' s better for the neighborhood noise - wise , and it’s also better for the programming of the club because then they can have more djs in and sell more tickets . ”

“every friday and saturday , we have 10 people who walk the street and try to de - escalate any problems , ” says milan . “they ' re not police or security ; they ' re also your friend , but they’re still trying to explain to you the rules . sometimes people just aren ' t aware that they have anti - social behavior , so they come out of a nightclub and don ' t realize they ' re shouting . just explaining to them that people live there can make a difference . ”

feargus o ' sullivan is a contributing writer to citylab , covering europe . his writing focuses on housing , gentrification and social change , infrastructure , urban policy , and national cultures . he has previously contributed to the guardian , the times , the financial times , and next city , among other publications .

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“now more than ever , as we are seeing more and more music venues , bars and restaurants shutting their doors ; more notably in its d . i . y . scene , the city needs to stop the bleeding of its cultural hubs , or risk becoming corporatized and homogenized , ” said rafael espinal , a new york city council member who first proposed the bill .

mr . milan’s flagship project has been the introduction of ten 24 - hour venues on the western outskirts of the city . the idea was to alleviate the pressure on the city’s heaving center and create a purpose - built nighttime district . the area contains several multidisciplinary venues , including art galleries and co - working spaces , as well as bars and clubs .

granting these establishments 24 - hour licenses means the venues can set their own operating hours , offering more flexibility for locals and tourists as well as reducing loitering on the streets . “it’s something you see happening everywhere in the world — all venues close at the same time , ” mr . milan said . “so people spill out onto the street at the same time , which of course causes a lot of problems and nuisance for people living in these areas . ”

she said that she spends much of her time working with london’s deputy mayors for policing and crime , transport , culture , planning and housing . “if you take a slice of everything they do and flip it into the dark , that is my brief , ” she said .

“new york is the city that never sleeps , but not all of those people are going to parties , ” mr . acuto said . “you can assume that the majority of them are going to a health care job . ”

" nyc ' s nightlife culture is an integral part of its identity , yet bureaucratic red tape , rising rents and lack of community planning has made it increasingly difficult for venues that contribute to our iconic nightlife to stay in business , " espinal , who represents parts of bushwick , east new york , brownsville and cypress hills , said in a statement .

but as nikki brown , an organizer with the dance liberation network and the manager of brooklyn ' s boiler room points out , " it ' s now up to the city to ensure that this position is not an empty gesture but an empowered ally to the creatives that drive much of the cultural relevance and economic vitality of new york . "

gothamist is now part of wnyc , a nonprofit organization that relies on its members for support . you can help us by making a donation today ! your contribution supports more local , new york coverage from gothamist . thank you !

contact the author of this article or email tips @ urltoken with further questions , comments or tips .

the 8 best new doughnuts to eat on national doughnut day ( and the day after that . . . )

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" for me the punk movement was tremendously important and spoke to my heart , because we were trying to sort out the world , " de blasio said , before bragging about seeing the clash at bond ' s casino in 1981 . " there was something amazing happening here in america , and first and foremost that was about the ramones . "

he continued , " there was a time in this city ' s history where these venues were not only challenged , but there was a systematic effort to undercut them . a lot of who we are as a city was undermined . . . and one of the big reasons was that it was hard to navigate the rules and restrictions that in some cases went too far . "

" i do feel as if there ' s a general change in the air , that these things will have a lasting and measurable effect , " said justin ahiyon , one of the owners of house of yes . the venue — a briefly shuttered " hippie - punk - squat house , " whose parties these days skew toward circus - based erotica — is one of many spaces operating in fear of the city ' s archaic rules and arbitrary enforcement , according to founder anya sapozhnikova .

" it ' s absolutely terrifying when you ' re trying to create a safe space for people of all types to come together and dance and celebrate life , and in the back of your mind you know it could get shut down for no reason at all , " sapozhnikova said . " to have the city in support of us is going to do incredible things . "

just about everyone in attendance seemed to echo sapozhnikova ' s optimism , even if some were more guarded about what sort of impact the office could have in the short term .

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the new appointee will field complaints and mediate disputes between nightlife establishments and city and state agencies , as well as residents with complaints and concerns .

the administration is in the process of interviewing candidates for the job , which is expected to be filled by the end of the year .

" the office will be led by who someone who will undoubtedly be more popular than me and will wield tremendous power , " de blasio said .

nightlife in new york city is $ 10 billion a year industry that employs 300 , 000 new yorkers , according to city hall .

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bronx native gerard mcnamee , who served as webster hall ' s director of operations for more than a decade before the venue was sold to a corporate partnership for $ 35 million in april , is proactively seeking the role of nightlife ambassador .

though the newly created post will be an appointed position , the 48 - year - old mcnamee paid a visit to city hall on thursday afternoon — where city officials were meeting about the new position — to ask how he might bolster his chances .

though webster hall ' s 1 , 500 - person capacity makes it one of downtown ' s larger music venues , it had for 131 years mostly been a family - run operation that was in relatively good standing with its neighbors , thanks in part to mcnamee ' s diplomatic prowess . he ' s also a co - owner of the popular east village social bar on st . marks place .

but according to one insider familiar with the ambassadorship plan , being a bar owner could work against mcnamee .

" the concern is that having a stake in a nightclub poses a conflict , " according to that source . " it ' s hoped that the agency will be an impartial liaison between nightlife businesses and residents . "

webster hall had for 131 years mostly been a family - run operation that was in relatively good standing with its neighbors , thanks in part to mcnamee’s diplomatic prowess . ( theo wargo / getty images )

" i am officially announcing that i will seek the appointment for new york city ' s first nightlife ambassador , " he said in a statement . " i have my finger on the pulse of the industry . . . i live , eat and breathe it . . . i am perfectly suited for this position . . . i curate community and culture . "

" new york city will be home to the largest and longest - running party the world has ever seen , " according to mcnamee .

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the concept caught fire in europe and is gaining relevance in large and small cities across the atlantic .

pittsburgh , pa . , got its first nighttime economy coordinator three years ago .

and now , large and small cities in the u . s . have begun to embrace the position as their downtowns have become more populated .

“this is coming into the 21st century of urban planning . it’s not all about buildings , roads , bike lanes . it’s about the socializing . it’s about what people can do in your city , ” he says . “you have to plan for people as much as you plan for buildings . ”

last week , a new york city council committee advanced a proposal to create an office of nightlife ( headed by a nightlife director ) and a nightlife advisory board . the proposal will be voted on by the full council on aug . 24 .

if it passes , it could help solve some of the city’s problems preserving small , independent art spaces and nightlife venues , according to rafael espinal , the councilmember who introduced the bill .

“nyc is one step closer to bringing nightlife out of the bureaucratic shadows , ” espinal said in a press release after the committee vote . “from diy venues to nightclubs , this bill accurately reflects the diversity of the nyc nightlife scene . ”

like other cities experiencing rapid neighborhood change and rising rents , new york has been struggling to keep space available for smaller , independent venues , “and [ manhattan ] has become kind of sterile [ with ] just a bunch of high rises now , ”says peters , the rhi president . london has a similar problem that ' s causing the city to lose population .

of course , that involves balancing the needs of businesses with those of residents . allison harnden , pittsburgh’s current nighttime economy coordinator , says she has spent her first year on the job learning how to manage growing pains of the city’s thriving bars , restaurants and art venues .

“we had growing nightlife that , like most cities , really had no plan . it just happened , ” harnden says . “so suddenly you have neighbors feeling the noise or other kinds of disruption because systems haven’t been put in place . ”

harnden ' s first order of business was to look at city codes for outdated and counterproductive laws that may be hurting the nighttime economy . she realized , for example , that the city charges an amusement tax for food and drink served in conjunction with any type of entertainment , even without tickets or a cover charge . so if a restaurant has a piano player , it would be subject to the extra tax .

“i don’t think my businesses are usually aware of all this stuff . so then i have to think about , why was that law created ? does it need to be looked at again ? ” she says .

a lawsuit alleges that washington , d . c . , illegally wooed " creative - class " millennials at the expense of longtime residents . others argue , " this is not a conspiracy . this is capitalism . ”

cat goughnour is pushing several cities to give community members more say in urban design .

like many other sunbelt cities , music city is trying to figure out what kind of place it wants to be .

white residents are either moving back downtown - - or to farther - out exurbs .

land use experts question whether vacant property taxes are the right way to spur development .

t midnight on a freezing friday , amsterdam’s rembrandtplein is rammed . excited clubbers flock towards the cavernous , hi - tech pulse of escape and the glitzy club rain . all around ,

tonight , though , is calm . ten pairs of young , red - jacketed rembrandtplein hosts tour the square , chatting amiably to clubbers and drinkers , directing tourists and out - of - towners , gently reminding all of the rembrandtplein rules , prominently displayed everywhere : “stay classy , think neighbours , drink inside , use a loo . ”

milan , 35 , a former club promoter , was elected in 2014 by festival - goers , club and bar owners and ( in an online vote ) the public . formally , the post – which emerged from projects dating back to 2003 – is as head of a small but influential non - profit foundation funded jointly by city hall and the business community .

not all cities have the same priorities . in london , gentrification and rising property prices – followed swiftly by new and deeply unhappy neighbours – have seen nearly 40 % of the city’s grassroots music venues close in less than a decade .

in australia , the new south wales government’s decision to ban clubbers in sydney’s kings cross from entering venues after 1 . 30am may have cut street incidents by 40 % – but it also shut down 40 clubs , and saw footfall in the whole district plummet by 82 % last year .

out in amsterdam - west by the a10 motorway is de school , one of the 10 trial 24 - hour venues just outside the city centre that since last year have been free to decide for themselves when they open and close .

mirik milan is promoting the concept of 24 - hour districts . photograph : graeme robertson

a sprawling former technical college that opened in january , de school now houses an airy daytime cafe , a gourmet restaurant , a gym , a concert space , an art gallery that is currently negotiating exhibitions with amsterdam’s stedelijk museum and the palais de tokyo in paris – and , in the basement , a cavernous and ( at 2 . 30 in the morning ) heaving nightclub .

twenty - four - hour licences are also an experiment to see whether city - wide closing times , which ensure thousands of unhappy people are kicked out on to narrow , city centre streets at 4 or 6am while “minutes before they were dancing , off in another world” , may not always be a good idea .

the early success of de school and several of its fellow 24 - hour venues has revealed another truth , says kyara van loenen , its creative director . “people now are very happy to cycle 20 , even 30 minutes , out of the city centre for a bigger , different , more complete experience , ” she says .

“it’s a lifestyle thing . the people coming here work hard – really hard – in the day and run or work out in the gym several times a week . at the weekend , they want to party . being able to open 24 hours a day means we can offer them something that really matches their needs , that they really want . ”

“we need a 24 - hour library , 24 - hour workspaces for students and creatives and people whose work means they’re dealing with the other side of the world . shops where you can buy tomorrow’s breakfast , or that cable you need now for that presentation you’re giving at 9am . it’s possible . ”

a little further outside the city centre , radion amsterdam , a vast former dentistry school and another 24 - hour licence holder , was hosting a 36 - hour dance party that started on friday evening and would end at 11am on sunday .

“at which point , ” says staas , one of the organisers , “the cafe opens for the sunday activities we run for local kids . it works fine – 24 - hours is how people want to live now . you know , the tickets that sold out first for this weekend were for saturday – but for entry between 7am and midday . people want to party on saturday morning . ”

“there you’ll have , like , 20 , 000 people , ” says milan . “maybe two get pick - pocketed , and there’s one fight . it’s because you have easy - on , easy - off access , clear routes around the site , a programme and rules that everyone knows and understands , soft security … basically , a pleasant environment . ”

so the dutch electronic multinational philips , was persuaded to invest in some significantly more subdued , even refined lighting for the elegant townhouses that line the square , replacing garish neon .


rob the mob is a 2014 american crime drama film directed by raymond de felitta and written by jonathan fernandez .

the film stars michael pitt , nina arianda , andy garcía , ray romano , aida turturro , frank whaley , michael rispoli and joseph r. gannascoli .

the film is based on a true story .

rob the mob

rob the mob <EOT> " rob the mob " is too cutesy a title for this dark grubby little tale .

raymond de felitta directed the new movie " rob the mob . " ( carolyn cole , los angeles… )

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing rob the mob near you .

michael pitt as tommy and nina arianda as rosie in " rob the mob . " photo credit : millennium entertainment

despite a few hang - ups , rob the mob is a charmingly offbeat crime flick , with two likable and plucky leads .

backstage hollywood : ' rob the mob , ' about tommy and rosemarie uva , met with resistance because of its mafia - based story . but it gives the mob movie a lighter touch .

" rob the mob " skims over the lifted - from - the - headlines exploits of an outlaw couple and gleans a humanist drama steeped in sentimentality .

offbeat crime drama rob the mob hits just the right semi - comic tone to pull off its outlandish , stranger - than - fiction true story .

“he was a kid who was obsessed with the mafia , and she grew up in the neighborhood and knew all those guys , ” says “rob the mob” screenwriter jonathan fernandez .

young lovers tommy ( michael pitt ) and rosie ( nina arianda ) team up to steal from gangsters in ' rob the mob . ' watch the trailer on stack gamer .

will mob boss andy garcia get upset ? what can possibly happen ? plenty , actually , but en route to reality there ' s a sense of reckless adventure , and a sweetness , that makes " rob the mob " a joy .

it ' s a story so outlandish that it needs to be served by a combination of drama and comedy , and " rob the mob " finds that balance quite well .

one of the pleasures of rob the mob , director raymond de felitta ' s serio - comic crime drama , is watching pitt and arianda as the rambunctious , lovestruck pair who can ' t believe the scam they ' ve stumbled upon .

by far one of the most fun mob thrillers we ' ve seen in some time .

set in the early 1990 ' s and based on an actual case , the crime thriller rob the mob tells the story of small - time crooks tommy and rosie who , like bonnie and clyde , are partners in crime and in love .

when de felitta couldn ' t land a big - name actress to star opposite pitt , it looked as if " rob the mob " was dead in the water . " the project kind of languished , " de felitta said .

they hit about a dozen joints , including the hawaiian moonlighters in little italy and an unnamed hangout on brooklyn’s 86th street . the couple’s story is now the basis for friday’s “rob the mob , ” starring michael pitt as tommy and nina arianda as rosie .

featuring generous doses of raucous humor as well as a haunting atmosphere of dread as tommy and rosie’s exploits prove increasingly dangerous , rob the mob is a true - crime tale that boasts an uncommon emotional resonance .

of course , part of the excitement of rob the mob is seeing just how far tommy and rosie can get before they ' re inevitably caught . in fact , it ' s during one specific heist that tommy recovers something truly incriminating from the mob , leading the viewer to wonder if our proverbial bonnie and clyde will actually get away with the whole damn thing .

two young lovers brazenly hold up mob social clubs in this fascinating true - crime tale .

subscribe to trailers : urltoken subscribe to coming soon : urltoken like us on facebook : urltoken follow us on twitter : urltoken rob the mob trailer 1 ( 2014 ) - crime movie hd a couple targets the mafia for heists and stumbles upon something big at an underground club .

irresistible , and based on a real - life story that ' s still hard to believe , " rob the mob " stars michael pitt and nina arianda as a queens couple who ask themselves a creative question about crime - - why not rob the criminals ? whom are they going to complain to ? as tommy and rosie , pitt and arianda are just the right kind of nuts , the right kind of dumb , the right kind of desperate and the right kind of in love to make it all go down like pie .

a queens couple who specialize in robbing mafia social clubs stumble upon a score bigger than they could ever imagine , becoming targets of both the mob and the fbi in the process .

the movie is playing in limited release after debuting in new york last week to strong reviews and promising box office . like many movies made outside the studio system , it ' s a minor miracle that " rob the mob " made it this far , nearly seven years after pizzonia was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the couple ' s 1992 murders .

tommy’s fascination with the mob is deeply personal ; when he was a boy , he saw his father suffer a brutal beating beat at the hands of local gangsters . so when he hears sammy name a mafia - owned social club where no guns are permitted , he has an idea : why not rob the joint ? and so begins a series of bonnie - and - clyde - style stickups of mob hangouts around the city , with tommy wielding an uzi and rosie driving the beat - up getaway car . the brazen daylight raids net enough cash for the lovers to move in together , taking their fiery romance to the next level . they also draw the attention of the fbi and veteran mob reporter cardozo ( romano ) , who splashes their unlikely story across the front page of the paper . but while the attacks enrage the mob , bonanno crime family head big al ( garcia ) orders his men only to scare the couple . after all , he says , eagles don ' t kill flies .

rather than abandon it , the filmmakers scaled back their ambitions and reduced their budget to about $ 5 million and cast arianda and garcia , beefing up his part to help land him . with avi lerner ' s millennium entertainment coming in to share the production costs ( millennium is also the distributor ) with some private investors , " rob the mob " was finally back on track .

tommy comes up with a plan to rob a mob - owned club where no guns are allowed . this leads the couple to hit multiple mafia hangouts . naturally , the mobsters will not take this lying down . but when tommy and rosie discover a well - guarded secret that could help the feds bring down new york ' s already weakening crime syndicate , the pair is in a much more dangerous position .

there were at least four robberies , and as the crime spree stretched over several months , the mob initially seemed unable to stop it . perhaps belaboring the obvious , one former high - ranking mob figure , who became a government witness several years ago , said , " it ' s embarrassing if wise guys get held up . "

in the opening scene when the car pulls to the side of the road , a post - 1991 model suv passes by in the background .

when a reputed crime boss was charged in 2007 with the couple ' s killings , fernandez traveled from hollywood and spent two weeks inside the u . s . district court in brooklyn , not far from where he grew up in new jersey . and from fernandez ' s perch in the gallery as dominick " skinny dom " pizzonia was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder , the script for " rob the mob " started to come together . the film opens friday in los angeles .

regardless of who ordered the killings , they did not come before the mob had suffered some embarrassment . the robberies had stunned the world of organized crime : gangland figures were incredulous over the brazen assaults on the normally inviolate establishments where they played cards , sipped coffee and schemed , according to several law enforcement officials .

moreover , mr . uva , 28 , may have been something of a mob buff , according to one law enforcement official who said investigators believed mr . uva had attended the 1992 trial of john j . gotti . and after the couple were killed , investigators found that they had a list of mob figures ' telephone and pager numbers , the official said .

rob the mob is a fun and jaunty crime flick that works really well when it ' s focused on its two winsome leads , but starts to fall apart as it introduces more and more side characters ( ray romano ' s jerry cardonzo being the exception ) . still , de felitta ' s solid direction offers a new york grit and humor that rightly vibes with the underdog story upon which it ' s based .

" a naïve but rather ambitious ' bonnie and clyde ' couple takes on the new york mob in raymond de felitta ' s impressively sustained and well performed drama . "

although it’s set in the early ’90s , rob the mob has the loose , jaunty feel of a ’70s - era b movie . raymond de felitta ’s wildly entertaining film based on the fascinating true - life tale of thomas and rosemarie uva , a queens couple who made the fatal mistake of robbing mafia “social clubs , ” benefits from a smart , crackling screenplay by jonathan fernandez ; terrific performances by everyone from its topline players to its rich supporting cast ; and a beautifully realized evocation of new york city’s outer boroughs .

de felitta has a feel for this world and its atmosphere , from the clutter and casual ugliness of the streets , to the insularity of the mentality , to the unexpected sweetness and vulnerability of the people .

the uvas set out more than a dozen years ago to solve their financial difficulties in a most unusual fashion : walking into mob social clubs with an uzi submachine gun and separating the mafiosi within from their ill - gotten gains .

while rob the mob treads a fine line between comedy and crime thriller , it ' s the film ' s lighthearted moments that work the best , and that ' s primarily thanks to pitt ' s ever - scowling tommy and arianda ' s vivacious , loudmouthed rosie . the tony - winning arianda in particular delivers a great comedic performance that plays well off of pitt ' s temper - laced aloofness . there ' s also tommy and rosie ' s agency boss , dave lovell ( griffin dunne ) , whose lavishly animated personality generates laughs , though sometimes at the expense of realism .

but as the filmmakers tried to land financing , they were repeatedly told that people weren ' t interested in mob movies anymore — " they ' re dead , " was one line — even from prominent producers who said they loved the screenplay . some even suggested they change the ending , and have the couple live , an unacceptable idea to the team .

although not lacking in suspense , the fast - paced film takes the time to explore the reason for tommy’s hatred of the mafia — he blames them for the death of his father — as well as the wildly passionate relationship between the two central characters , superbly played by pitt and the vivacious arianda .

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what tommy and rosie don’t know is that the clubs are under fbi surveillance , with one veteran agent ( frank whaley ) utterly bemused by the couple’s daringness . he leaks a photo of several of the mob victims vainly chasing tommy clad only in their underwear — tommy humiliated them by making them strip during the robbery — to a tabloid journalist ( ray romano ) , who splashes the story all over the front page .

based on a true story , raymond de felitta ' s rob the mob takes place in new york city in 1991 and follows two small - time crooks , tommy ( michael pitt ) and rosie ( nina arianda ) , whose unbridled love for one another is only outdone by their criminal , thrill - seeking lifestyles . the story opens with a failed flower shop robbery that lands tommy in jail for 18 months . by the time he gets out , rosie ' s gone straight with a new job at a debt - collecting agency and convinces tommy to join her . however , it isn ' t long before the couple is once again in dire straights , and tommy comes up with a crazy idea - - that is , instead of flower shops and convenient stores , why not just steal from the mob ?

but tommy is less interested in his work duties than in attending the trial of mob boss john gotti , where one hoodlum testifies about the private clubs in which the mafia members hang out and where guns are strictly forbidden . “wise guys and guns … it’s a bad mix , ” he points out .

the doors to the social clubs were almost always open , and the patrons inside were generally unarmed — and carrying a sizable amount of cash . most important , the victims were unlikely to call the police .

even in the annals of dumb crooks , tommy and rosemarie uva weren ' t the sharpest tools in the shed . in the early 1990s , the young queens couple decided to stick up mafia social clubs .

the title “rob the mob” promises more of an outright romp than this entertainingly garrulous but ultimately melancholy crime tale delivers . de felitta has probed the ambitions and anxieties of regular new york citizens in a number of his features — notably “city island” and sundance favorite “two family house” — but this is his first to focus principally on underworld matters , doing so with the deglamorized , domestic focus of many a post - “sopranos” mafia study . it certainly begins on an upbeat note , with deee - lite’s immortally kitsch club jam “groove is in the heart” placing viewers immediately in the taste - challenged , politically and economically transitional milieu of early - ’90s america , but a serious , unsanctimonious moral conscience will kick in well before the story’s wintry end .

naturally , none of this sits well with aging mob boss big al ( andy garcia , who previously collaborated with de felitta on the equally fine if little - seen city island ) , a seemingly genteel type who likes to spend his time teaching his adoring young grandson the art of cooking rice balls . at first , big al is content to ignore the young criminals , but he’s eventually spurred to order violent retribution when tommy begins threatening to make public the list of mob members he’s purloined from one of his hapless victims ( burt young ) .

the film ' s director , raymond de felitta , makes the kind of movies that only small groups of people really love , usually because only small groups of people get to see them . " city island " ( 2009 ) , about a bronx cop who wants to be an actor , has taken on cult status ; anyone who ' s seen " two - family house " ( 2000 ) , about an unlikely couple in staten island , is unlikely to forget it . with " rob the mob " and its script by jonathan fernandez , he ' s altered his style a bit . the pace is faster , the humor more biting , the story more off - the - wall , and the camerawork more frenetic . but at the core is a love story , with more than a little sense of bad news around its edges .

the movie is full of quirky , usually worthwhile digressions ( andy garcia has an expansive part as a mob boss ) that add to its offbeat tone , further abetted by interesting musical choices and a very nice score by stephan endelman .

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the plan works to the couple ' s advantage , as tommy learns while sitting in on the john gotti trial that mafia social clubs are gun - free zones . manned only with an uzi and a pillow case , tommy miraculously pulls off his first heist - - even convincing the gangsters to strip off all their clothes in the process - - and makes a quick getaway thanks to his driver rosie . soon , the nefarious duo earn a dangerous reputation that catches the eyes of both the media and the mob ' s boss " big al " ( played by a full - bearded andy garcia ) .

in may , the two hatched a plan : thomas would storm into the club and order the men inside to empty their valuables . rosie would wait outside in the getaway car .

michael pitt and nina arianda play the crazy - in - love tommy and rosie , whose early attempt to rob a florist results in tommy getting caught and being sent to prison . cut to 18 months later , when rosie is working at a collection agency run by the perpetually jovial dave ( griffin dunne ) , who makes it a habit of employing ex - cons . welcoming the newly sprung tommy to the fold , he proudly informs him , “i hire people who’ve been abandoned by society . ”

" rob the mob " romanticizes tommy and rosie , filming them in slo - mo dancing through raining dollar bills , and kissing in the rain on a deserted coney island boardwalk , but the couple lacks the iconic power of other famous crime - spree cinematic duos , including their namesake . the romantic treatment of some of their scenes and the sentimental soundtrack is all counter - acted by casting pitt and arianda , who inhabit their roles familiarly , grubbily , easily . both actors portray characters who are clearly not smart , not even a little bit , but they do so without being patronizing about it . you don ' t get the sense that they , the actors , are " slumming " . tommy and rosie have no self - awareness , and no powers of self - reflection . tony award - winning arianda , in particular , is fascinating to watch . she was fascinating to watch in her small part in "

the robberies committed by the couple - - in brooklyn , queens and little italy , at clubs with names like the hawaiian moonlighters and the veterans and friends - - were such a sore point among mob figures , according to f . b . i . reports and law enforcement officials , that two crime families argued over who should get credit for their deaths . federal prosecutors have said in court papers that john a . gotti once boasted that his group , the gambino family , was responsible for the hit , not the bonannos , who had also claimed credit .

basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …

starring as tommy is boardwalk empire ' s michael pitt . nina arianda ( tower heist ) plays rosie . tv ' s ray romano portrays veteran mob reporter jerry cardozo , who makes tommy ' s and rosie ' s exploits famous . in the part of big al , leader of the bonanno crime family , is andy garcia .

to fernandez , it ' s just the way of things in hollywood : " things take forever . it ' s the nature of the business . "

the cops fingered dominick “skinny dom” pizzonia , a reputed gambino capo who ran one of the social clubs the uvas knocked over . pizzonia was convicted in 2007 for participating in the murders , despite his claim that he was scaling fish with his mistress at the time .

after the arraignment , mr . pizzonia ' s lawyer , joseph corozzo , cited the bonanno family ' s claim of responsibility in the case , noting that cooperating witnesses from that family had talked about the killings .

the picture was directed by raymond de felitta , best known for 2005 ' s the thing about my folks . jonathan fernandez ( star trek enterprise ) wrote the screenplay .

as tommy and rosie , pitt and arianda are just the right kind of nuts , the right kind of dumb , the right kind of desperate and the right kind of in love to make it all go down like pie .

the two fell victim to an “open contract” issued by the gambino and bonanno gang families . the uvas were an especially attractive target because of the way they had violated and humiliated the made men . ( in one robbery , tommy made his elderly italian victims strip to their underwear . )

i ' m getting the same error message . i live in canada . could this be part of the problem ?

starring michael pitt ( " boardwalk empire " ) and tony - award winning actress nina arianda ( " venus in fur " ) as tommy and rosemarie , the independently financed movie was directed by " city island " filmmaker raymond de felitta . the cast includes " city island " star andy garcia as a mob boss more interested in cooking than crime , ray romano as a newspaper columnist smitten with the uva ' s cheeky crime spree and griffin dunne as the munificent operator of a collection agency willing to hire the ex - con tommy and his girlfriend .

jonathan fernandez’s brisk , flavorful script doesn’t exactly romanticize tommy and rosemarie’s misguided activity : like robin hood , they’re stealing from the rich to give to the poor , with the sullying qualification that they alone are the poor in question . the tangled ethics of their scheme are of less narrative interest to de felitta than the personal motivation behind it , as tommy is revealed to have a personal score to settle with the mob that relates to his estranged family . ( cathy moriarty puts in a brief , stinging appearance as his unforgiving mom . ) his and rosemarie’s relationship , meanwhile , is depicted in affectingly febrile terms , their mutual devotion so reckless as to lead both lovers against their better judgment .

in the abstract , the choice of location made sense . the clubs were filled with guys with fat wallets and even chunkier jewelry , and they didn ' t carry guns for fear of government raids and were not likely to call the police for help . but their plan had one obvious and ultimately fatal flaw : the uvas were , after all , stealing from the gambino and colombo crime families . fatal being the key word here .

as soon as he poked into several mafia hangouts while covering the pizzonia trial , the screenwriter , who worked briefly as an argentina correspondent for the associated press and is married to a former los angeles times reporter , knew the film wasn ' t going to be anything like the mobster movies he admired growing up .

it ' s a decision big al will come to regret . during one of their heists , tommy and rosie stumble upon a mafia secret so closely guarded that rank - and - file mobsters don’t even know it exists . to the feds , it’s the smoking gun they’ve been looking for—a key to finally dismantling new york’s already - faltering crime syndicate . to big al , it ' s the high cost of his earlier leniency—a mistake he quickly moves to correct . for tommy and rosie , caught between the law and a mob contract , the future all depends on who gets to them first .

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two decades after serving as semi - light relief for big apple newspaper editors in the heady days of the john gotti trial , the richly improbable story of tommy and rosemarie uva gets lively , compassionate treatment in the latest likable effort from practiced east coast portraitist raymond de felitta . though the film reunites de felitta with andy [ … ]

the supporting figures , such as garcia’s somber mob boss and romano’s moralistic journalist who finds himself feeling increasingly sympathetic to the brazen young criminals whose lives he’s putting in danger with his stories , are equally well fleshed - out . garcia , sporting a heavy gray beard , invests his character with an impressive gravitas , while romano further demonstrates the dramatic skills he’s unveiled on nbc’s parenthood . the large supporting cast , which also includes such familiar faces as cathy moriarty as tommy’s estranged mother and michael rispoli as big al’s second - in - command , deliver impressive turns all around .

the rest of the cast is populated by stalwart long - time new york actors , grounding the film in its location and era . cathy moriarty shows up in a heartbreaking cameo as tommy ' s devastated mother , wrecked by a lifetime of disappointment and violence . moriarty gives another unforgettable cameo performance in the upcoming " the double " . it ' s exciting to think of the direction her career is taking .

the man , dominick pizzonia , who prosecutors say was known as skinny dom , was charged with racketeering conspiracy , including the two murders .

kitted out with an uzi he can barely handle and an initially skeptical rosemarie as his getaway driver , tommy pulls off his initial heists in such straightforwardly successful fashion that even he is taken off - guard — to say nothing of the fbi agents monitoring the raided clubs , or tabloid reporter cardozo ( ray romano ) , who offers rosemarie a sympathetic ear and gives their story front - page placement . most bewildered of all , of course , is the mob itself . local don fiorello ( garcia , exuding sage weariness from under a salt - and - pepper beard ) initially deems the couple too lightweight to merit violent counteraction ; when tommy chances upon crucial inside information that could undo the entire syndicate , however , the stakes are raised .

no one had been charged in the case until yesterday , when f . b . i . agents and police detectives arrested a man , whom they accused of being a captain in the gambino crime family , on charges that he was part of the hit team that killed the couple .

mr . pizzonia was close to mr . gotti , the flamboyant mob chief who died in 2002 in federal prison , where he was serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering . his son , john a . gotti , avoided a racketeering conviction in his own case on tuesday when a federal jury in manhattan returned hung verdicts on three charges against him and voted not guilty on a fourth .

on federal wire taps , members from rival crime families the bonannos and gambinos can even be heard arguing over who should get credit for the uvas’ executions .

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the two are arrested and sent to jail after robbing a florist on valentine ' s day . later , they decide to go straight and get jobs at a collection agency , but when tommy skips work to attend the trial of mafia hit man sammy " the bull " gravano , he is drawn back into the criminal word .

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yesterday , the silver - haired mr . pizzonia , 63 , pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in united states district court in brooklyn . the assistant united states attorneys prosecuting the case , winston y . chan and mitra hormozi , filed papers asking the judge to hold him without bail , and a hearing was scheduled for next week .

investigators were looking into the role of another gambino figure , ronald trucchio , known as ronnie one arm for his withered right limb , who was sentenced in august to 20 years in federal prison on racketeering conspiracy charges , the officials and investigators said . a third man served as the getaway driver , the officials and investigators have said .

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honestly , i am not a fan of mob movies . i can count those i have seen on one hand . i am truly not interested in watching a movie about these people . generally . my only reason for watching this was michael pitt . i am a fan and i ' ll give anything he is in a go . i couldn ' t say i actually liked him in this one as all i could see was the dumb ass true life moron he plays ( which is a credit to his acting skills ) . i mean seriously , who would hold up the mob ( or anyone ) and show their face and then take personal belongings such as gold watches which could easily be identified as belonging to a particular person - also with no disguise . how did this man honestly expect to get away with that ? ! it staggers me that this is a true story . having said that , it was entertaining and kept me watching and i liked the actress who played the girlfriend too - very unusual look and fun character ( unfortunately , also dumb as ) . slightly amusing ( intentionally ? ) , well paced movie . recommended .

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the crime spree was predictably short - lived . they were killed in 1992 in one of the more public executions in the recent history of organized crime in new york . on christmas eve , in broad daylight on a busy queens thoroughfare , they were each shot several times in the head as they sat in a car at a traffic light . ms . uva , the authorities said , had more than $ 1 , 000 in her wallet ; investigators said they believed the couple might have been out for some last - minute christmas shopping .

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the couple committing the robberies were not completely in uncharted territory . the diminutive , doe - eyed ms . uva had been convicted of attempted robbery several years earlier and had served a little more than a year in state prison . her husband had been in state prison twice ; he was released in may 1991 after serving nearly three years for first - degree robbery . investigators at the time of the couple ' s deaths said mr . uva had a drug problem .

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the killings of rosie and tommy are still something of a point of pride in certain new york communities .

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the uvas worked at a manhattan collection agency and lived in ozone park , queens , once the stomping ground of john gotti . thomas , then 28 , was an ex - con who had done time for robbery .

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“we filmed in real social clubs , and [ the members ] were fine with it , ” fernandez says .

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the duo were quickly dubbed “bonnie and clyde” and evidently knew that what they were doing would probably lead to disaster .

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in the annals of new york city crime , few undertakings were more ill - advised , foolhardy and just plain dangerous than the one that prosecutors say was chosen by thomas and rose marie uva , a young married couple from queens .

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when screenwriter jonathan fernandez heard of the uva ' s imprudent bonnie - and - clyde scheme , he did something almost as rash . rather than come at their tale as a storyteller , the former journalist approached it as a reporter .

a romance about two down - and - outers that reveals the workings of a whole citywide ecosystem of crime and punishment .

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mr . pizzonia ' s lawyer , mr . corozzo , also said yesterday that the prosecutors had brought the charges against his client as a " knee - jerk reaction to get anyone who was close to john gotti after his son was victorious in court last week . "

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after one of his victims warned thomas that the mafia would eventually kill him , tommy reportedly replied with a shrug , “everybody dies . ”

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i would not put this in the same category as any scorcese movie but this is very much worth seeing and you won ' t be disappointed .

mr . gotti ' s lawyer , jeffrey h . lichtman , said yesterday that his client had no role in the crimes . " if they had any evidence against john , they certainly would have brought it in this case , or in the case in 1998 against john , " he said .

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the protagonists’ inadequate criminal credentials are established upfront with a botched flower - shop heist that lands tommy ( an inky - haired pitt ) 18 months in the slammer . rosemarie ( arianda ) attempts to go straight , securing employment with lovell ( griffin dunne ) , a smarmy ex - con debt collector who believes in second chances and agrees to hire tommy , too , upon his release . tommy’s mind , however , is only half on the job . fascinated by the ongoing gotti trial , which he regularly skips work to attend , he fixates on one witness’ testimony about mafia - owned drinking holes where no guns are permitted — with his and rosemarie’s combined incomes barely getting them by , the criminal allure of this sitting - duck setup is too great to resist .

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on the media side of things , ray romano plays a beat reporter , jerry cardozo , who after tommy and rosie ' s first heist gets a tip from an fbi surveillance agent ( frank whaley ) that ' s landed photos of tommy and rosie in the act . romano ' s performance is another that works really well here , as the comedian channels more of his dramatic side seen on nbc ' s parenthood . his character is also arguably the film ' s moral center - - a much - needed figure in a story filled with ne ' er - do - wells . sadly , romano ' s part is much smaller than expected , which is a shame because he has such good on - screen chemistry with arianda and pitt that further exposes the twosome ' s ridiculous escapades .

instead , they aimed to tell a comedic romance , a look at a young couple whose life ended in love , not blood . " i felt that you needed to love them , " de felitta said . " but you also needed to show what obvious limitations they had . they were crazy , but they weren ' t bad . " ( for all the couple ' s ineptness , their robberies also netted them a secret list of organized crime hierarchies ; it was so valuable that fbi agents , who were wiretapping the clubs and knew of the thieving , stole it from the uvas and used it to take down several crime bosses ) .

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arianda has seemed poised for a breakout ; this could do the trick . as rosie , she ' s smart enough to have made an impression on dave ( griffin dunne ) , the wacky , philanthropic owner of a collection agency that hires ex - offenders , which is how tommy gets hired , too . but tommy is a screwup , and he wants fast money , and rosie is too much in love to say no . and besides , is it really a crime to hold up a social club ? and so what if tommy makes the members undress , and they get their picture in a city tabloid , courtesy of the feds and reporter jerry cardozo ( ray romano ) ?

tommy ( michael pitt ) and rosie uva ( nina arianda ) have recently emerged from short stints in prison for holding up a florist ' s shop . they are in love . rosie has gotten a job at a debt collection agency , run by a smiling enthusiastic guy ( griffin dunne ) who likes to hire ex - cons ( he himself did time for fraud ) . rosie , a woman with an ingratiating supportive attitude and a big laugh which masks her intellectual shortcomings , convinces her boss to also hire tommy . when money is tight one month , they decide on their reckless quick - cash crime spree . rosie drives the get - away car and tommy , wearing a ski - mask , does the stick - up , accidentally firing off the uzi into the ceiling and back walls . the group of " wise guys " in the club empty their wallets , all while issuing threats of what they will do when they track him down . when tommy and rosie go home to their bleak cold - water flat , they laugh and commiserate over how easy it was .

" in a world in which studios are making the big lego movies , writers today have to be more proactive and take more control , " said fernandez , who early in his career worked for the legendary producers roger corman and dino de laurentiis . " we ended up with a movie i ' m really proud of . i couldn ' t be happier . "

law enforcement officials and investigators , who spoke on the condition of anonymity , have said that they have enough evidence to prove that mr . pizzonia was one of two gunmen that day .

having jotted down the clubs ' addresses , tommy , armed with an uzi , and rosie , manning a getaway car that was given to her by her late father , begin a series of robberies like a modern - day bonnie and clyde , their victims being the mobsters who can scarcely believe that anyone would be both brazen enough and dumb enough to take them on .

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unexpectedly but effectively cast in a role that plays to his sullen strengths , pitt has a palpable , playful rapport with arianda , a tony - winning broadway ingenue whose warm , expressive features and tinderbox comic timing recall the young marisa tomei – who would surely have played this role if the story had been more swiftly ripped from the headlines by hollywood . defining rosemarie’s intellectual limitations with wit and not a hint of condescension , while playing up her persuasive personal magnetism , it’s a shrewd and sneakily touching star turn that stokes interest in her casting as rock icon janis joplin in sean durkin’s still - unproduced “janis . ” a multitude of faces readily associated with this geographic and cinematic terrain ( including a couple of “sopranos” alums ) peppers the cannily - cast ensemble .

as they developed the screenplay , it was clear that fernandez , de felitta and producer william teitler were trying to tell an anti - " goodfellas " tale . " i was not interested in making a mafia movie , " de felitta said . " you can ' t beat the good ones . i thought it was a great true crime story and it wasn ' t even that well - known . but it was incredibly poignant . "

she was born in the bronx , new york and went immediately from high school into an acting career . she made a colossal breakthrough in 1980 in scorsese ' s film raging bull , playing vicky lamotta opposite . . .

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born and raised in queens , new york , ray romano originally planned to become an accountant , but started his career on stage as a stand up comic . after taking a chance in 1984 , he found the stage . . .

born in syracuse , new york , frank whaley is best known for his vivid portrayals of put - upon , sometimes ill - fated young men . whaley studied theater at both the university of new york , albany and . . .

" it was just a bunch of old guys sitting around , playing cards , in a really drab place , " fernandez said . " it looked nothing like ' the godfather . ' i thought : ' this was fresh . ' "

" mr . pitt is a credible lunkhead , and ms . arianda is a delight , dressing rosie ' s filthy mouth in the sweetest of smiles . if you were tommy , you ' d want to give her everything , too . "

on christmas eve 1992 , he and rosie set out in their mercury topaz at 8 : 30 a . m . while waiting at a light at 103rd avenue and 91st street in ozone park , gunmen shot them each three times in the head .

however , despite tommy and rosie ' s entertaining hijinks , the film does feel a little bloated at times . for example , a good chunk of the film is spent with big al , who ' s largely portrayed as a kindly master chef that ' s more interested in making rice balls and imparting wisdom to his young grandson than getting directly involved in his family ' s dirty work . garcia plays the part well , but most of his character ' s scenes involve him and middleman sal ( michael rispoli ) recapping events that literally just happened , rendering a lot of his screen time useless . likewise , there ' s a more serious subplot involving tommy and his estranged family that adds some depth to pitt ' s character , but ultimately goes nowhere .

techs are modest but efficient across the board ; a climactic set piece that dives into time - lapse trickery feels discordantly ostentatious by comparison . carlos menendez’s production design and tere duncan’s costumes tidily re - create a shabby era of mirrored sunglasses and fluorescent christmas decorations without lurching too far into parody .

new york city , 1991 . small - time crooks tommy ( pitt ) and rosie ( arianda ) have two things in common : a crazy - passionate love for one another and—after they ' re caught robbing a florist on valentine ' s day—prison records . trying to go straight , rosie lands a job at a debt - collection agency and persuades tommy to join her . but soon tommy is skipping his shifts to do something much more interesting—attend the landmark trial of mafia hit man sammy " the bull " gravano , whose graphic testimony could finally bring down flamboyant gambino - family boss john gotti .

in paris , " where she droningly and happily repeated whatever her snobby husband said . arianda ' s rosie is filled with enthusiasm and support for those around her ( watch , in particular , how she butters up her boss , cheering him on like they ' re at a pep rally ) , and despite her initial resistance to tommy ' s plan , she finally embraces it wholeheartedly . she ' s not killing anyone . she ' s stealing from bad men . " what ' s the crime in that ? " she asks cardoza , grinning at him chummily over her slice of pizza . arianda shows rosie ' s shallow grasp of abstract concepts in a frozen smile and confused flicker in her eyes when confronted with something she doesn ' t understand . cardoza says to her , " we got a saying in the newspaper world - - " and she cuts him off , brightly , supportively , missing the entire point : " i love sayings ! slogans ! "

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new york city , 1991 . small - time crooks tommy ( pitt ) and rosie ( arianda ) have two things in common : a crazy - passionate love for one another and - after they ' re caught robbing a florist on valentine ' s day - prison records . trying to go straight , rosie lands a job at a debt - collection agency and persuades tommy to join her . but soon tommy is skipping his shifts to do something much more interesting - attend the landmark trial of mafia hit man sammy " the bull " gravano , whose graphic testimony could finally bring down flamboyant gambino - family boss john gotti . ( c ) millennium entertainment

a millennium entertainment release of a william teitler production in association with william kay . ( international sales : the exchange , los angeles . ) produced by william teitler . executive producers , william kay , andy garcia , jonathan fernandez , raymond de felitta , michael pitt . co - producer , lynn appelle , richard atkinson , david fleischner .

directed by raymond de felitta . screenplay , jonathan fernandez . camera ( color , widescreen ) , christopher norr ; editor , david leonard ; music , stephen endelman ; music supervisor , jim black ; production designer , carlos menendez ; art director , raphael sorcio ; set decorator , robert covelman ; costume designer , tere duncan ; sound ( dolby digital ) , felix andrew ; re - recording mixers , lew goldstein , tom ryan ; visual effects supervisor , christopher healer ; visual effects , the molecule ; stunt coordinator , roy farfel ; associate producer , isabel teitler ; assistant director , matthew vose campbell ; second unit director , al bettner ; casting , sheila jaffe , georgianne walken .

back in 1992 , young queens couple thomas and rosemarie uva were in need of money , so they hit upon a not - so - brilliant plan : they stick up mafia - friendly social clubs , robbing whomever they found inside of cash and jewelry .