As rents cool, nightlife heats up

Lower commercial real estate rents mean that New York is developing a more active nightlife scene after a few club closures earlier this year. Entrepreneurs have been able to open clubs such as the Gates at 290 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea and Jane Ballroom at 113 Jane Street in the Meatpacking District because rent deals have been good. In the boom years, landlords’ overestimations of land values made it hard for new ventures to get started, said Will Regan, a partner in the soon-to-open Double Seven lounge in the Meatpacking District.