In the late afternoon on Friday, Superman Matt Levine came at me faster than a speeding bullet. He had a party that needed a space for a hundred people for Saturday night. They needed it to be private—a word many people don’t really understand. There aren’t a lot of places that haven't already been completely sold out on a Saturday night; rooms with room to spare on weekends don’t last. The solution was the not-ready for prime-time roof of Hotel Chantelle, which I am readying for an opening in about 2 weeks.

A weekend of springlike weather brought optimism and a few mosquitoes to my downtown abode. It was a weekend of new construction -- a fresh start for so many things. The trickle of growth in clubdom has become a torrent, with my design firm getting an inquiry a day about our services. Gossip down below in subMercer was that Serge Becker's new subterranean versian of Chinatown Brasserie will make dim sum available for Thanksgiving. Lovely Day has recovered from its fire and is slowly returning to the neighborhood mainstay it was before. Also in the hood, Jon Lennon celebrated the second anniversary of his GoldBar on Ssunday. By the end of the day today, I should be signing a couple of more contracts -- maybe even three more, as the recession is officially over in nightlife.

TV is simply a place where people go when they get tired of thinking. -- Kevin Devitte

Another rainy weekend had people deploring summer and its summery traditions -- with the Hamptons at the top of the seasonal hitlist. Some would even go as far to call Manhattanites' favorite weekend destination "the universe's vortex of suck," and with the recent velvet-rope antics at Matt Levine's Hamptons outpost Georgica, that seems to be a growing sentiment. Levine, best known for his tight door at The Eldridge in the Lower East Side, called for Georgica's awning to be rolled up, allowing potential patrons patiently awaiting entrance to get left out in the pouring rain. Seems heartless, but Levine has an explanation. PlumTV's wet video and Levine's take after the jump.

The old expression that you can't fight City Hall has rung true year after year as overregulation and constant harassment has caused New York nightlife indescribable harm. With the awful economic climate, there has been a resurgence of creativity and passion in the scene, and the suits who ran things for the last seven or so years have, in many cases, taken on dynamic partners to adjust to the post-bottle service era. Many bottle-era mainstays are circling their wagons and protecting their models and big spenders in smaller, more intimate settings. Marquee, after a long glorious run is opening Avenue to better service its clientele, which at this point need a change of scenery. On the other side, Matt Levine is expanding his base at The Eldridge and giving the larger and possibly more problematic Thor space at the Rivington Hotel a go. While nightlife has adjusted to the times and may indeed be more fun than anytime in the last ten years, there are gloomy clouds forming just out of sight of many, but in the sharp focus of a dedicated few.

When New York City nightlife owners might wonder why their businesses are in trouble, they probably shouldn't put the blame on former presidential candidate John Kerry. Kerry recently introduced a piece of legislation called the TARP Taxpayer Protection and Corporate Responsibility Act. Essentially, the bill calls for the prevention of all financial institutions who received federal bailout money from throwing extravagant, lavish parties on taxpayers' dimes. This yielded some of the most charming recession-related quotes so far from the mandarins of New York nightlife

Matt Levine, the brains behind The Eldridge, on getting thank-you notes, why other clubs shouldn’t focus so much on their custie’s wallets, and the reason nightlife experts pick his joint when they go out.

[UPDATE: Frank Own is not amused.]

James Woods, the Hotel on Rivington’s Operations Manager, on ushering the A-list inside the hotel undetected, bringing an LA vibe to the Lower East, and the journey from Long Island bellboy to lounging in a hot tub way above the LES.

I haven’t had sex in eight months. To be honest, I now prefer to go bowling. -- Lil' Kim