Williamsburg Bar Sues for Its Constitutional Right to Host Dance Parties

New Yorkers have a constitutional right to dance where they drink, or at least that's what one bar owner is arguing in a lawsuit against the city, reports the Post. As it stands, no more than three people can get down in a New York bar that doesn't have a cabaret license. Andrew Muchmore, who owns Muchmore's Cafe in Williamsburg, says the law is a violation of the First and 14th Amendments (that's free speech and equal protection).

To keep from breaking the law, or being witness to acts that "involve dancing or would tend to elicit dancing," Muchmore plays only "folk music, rock music, experimental electronic music, jazz and other forms of music that are not conducive to dancing." But, if it weren't for the law, he would "host forms of music that might lead to dancing." Cabaret laws have been in place since Prohibition, so Muchmore's facing an uphill battle, but if he's victorious, this could be a landmark case for bars citywide.