On any given weekend, you'll find Eric Thor taking the L train to Montrose, grabbing a hydration drink and Altoids at the corner bodega, and making his way to any number of parties, clubs, and DIY warehouse venues throughout East Williamsburg and Bushwick. There, you'll find him in a tank top, worn-in Converse, and a white shell choker, dancing right in front of the DJ decks to disco, house, and techno. Fast-forward to later in the week, and you'll find him interviewing Knicks fans outside Madison Square Garden about taxing the rich or supporting State Assembly Member Diana Moreno at a local event in Queens.
Now, he's adding another title to his résumé: Executive Director of New York City's Office of Nightlife. PAPER can exclusively share that Thor is the latest addition to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration, bringing his experience on both the dance floor and the political front lines to a position that sits at the intersection of culture, business, and city government.
There have been countless conversations about how people aren't dancing anymore. Tinashe even immortalized the sentiment in her recent song "Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore." But Thor hasn't stopped dancing. And in his new role, he's looking to make sure New Yorkers can keep doing the same. "So many people think, 'I don't go out.' But the dance floor is for everyone," Thor says.
There’s that viral tweet that said “I want a fake gay job like creative director,” and I imagine plenty of people have a similar reaction when they learn that New York City has an actual Executive Director of the Office of Nightlife. But the job is very real. The city's nightlife industry supports nearly 300,000 jobs and generates $35.1 billion in economic impact. Sitting within the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), the Office of Nightlife serves as a liaison between the nightlife industry, local communities, and city agencies. While Eric’s new role has existed under other administrations, Mamdani’s office is transforming many aspects of NYC government, and this role is no different. But are we surprised? We’re talking about Zohran Mamdani, the current NYC mayor who, the weekend before the election, was the first-ever mayoral candidate to party-hop in Brooklyn, including at the aptly named queer party “Papi Juice.” Certainly not a campaign trail stop made by most.
Clearly, Zohran's office understands the importance of nightlife culture, especially to the fabric of New York City. So often, “culture” and the support of it at an institutional level are exclusively tied to museums, theaters, or arts facilities, while nightlife, despite its enormous influence on the city's cultural identity, is frequently left out. “There are so many different flavors [of nightlife]. There are parties like 718 Sessions. There are nightclubs. There are places with bottle service, listening bars, hookah lounges, and it’s about taking each and every one of those seriously and seeing them as the valuable cultural institutions that they are,” Thor tells PAPER.
There is something quite ironic about the role as well. Nightlife, by nature, is spontaneous, transgressive, and a little anti-establishment. Having an entire government office dedicated to supporting its existence feels almost contradictory. But that tension isn't lost on Thor, who sees listening to the people already shaping nightlife as a major part of the job. “I would say it's all about just listening beforehand. There's been a lot of work that's been done before me. And part of [this role] is seeing what work has already been done, and not just the things in the front. And then also making sure that I build those relationships and integrate into the city as much as possible.”
When thinking about how he wants to listen, Eric mentioned his three pillars of focus in our conversation over coffee near City Hall: patrons, owners, and workers. For patrons, the issue is increasingly one of access. New York may be the city that never sleeps, but going out in it certainly isn't getting any cheaper. "How can we make sure the venues won't have to raise their ticket prices so patrons, at the end of the day, don't have to sell an arm and a leg to be able to pay for a ticket?" Thor asks. Owners, on the other hand, are often working within such tight margins that they're forced to raise prices as a way to stay afloat. He also hopes the office can help alleviate some of those pressures through more structural support, less red tape, and attention to the micro-challenges that often become major expenses for businesses.
But the biggest part of our discussion was about the workers who make the entire nightlife system run. “I'm somebody who's been doing a lot of freelance work,” Thor explains. “And it's challenging in a lot of ways to have to stitch a bunch of things together, and that's what a lot of people who work in nightlife have to do as well. I'd be really interested in finding ways to support nightlife workers and be able to have their gigs and different jobs stitched together into more cohesive careers.” Affordability has been at the forefront of the mayor's office's political agenda, and that focus will be trickling down to everything, including nightlife.
While Thor won't officially begin his role for another few weeks, he's already spent years serving as an unofficial navigator of New York nightlife. At least for me, someone who has found some of my favorite parties through our friendship. Before Eric and I ever muttered a word to each other, we'd see each other on the dance floor of a monthly funk and disco party on the Lower East Side, twirling to Lime and Chaka Khan. After about eight months of sharing the dance floor, I was sitting by the bar, re-upping on Red Bull at 3 a.m., when he finally came over to formally introduce himself. “What’s your thrust in life?” he said. I remember thinking, “Huh?” Not "What's up?" or "What do you do in the city?" The question was more pointed than that. He wanted to know what drives me. What gets me excited and motivated to take on the world.
Years later, I still remember that question. So, as we wrapped up our conversation about his new role, I decided to turn it back on him. What was his “thrust” for joining the Mamdani administration and taking on the Office of Nightlife? “I love this city, and my thrust right now is to do the best by the city that I can.”
Photography by Nick Weber and Alex Chan
