Boston's new director of nightlife looks to change city's after-dark scene

Boston has often been ranked as having a notoriously poor nightlife. Most clubs have a two a.m. curfew and the trains stop running just after midnight. It's even hard to find a bar that closes after one a.m., despite the city being known as a bar town. Boston ranks pretty low on some lists of top travel destinations. It was ranked No. 10 on U.S. World Report and News and No. 17 on Attractions of America. Those are not terrible ratings, but we are nowhere near other cities, like New York or Miami. What kind of toll does this take on the tourism and entertainment economy here, and how can the city grow into a more social hub?

Corean Reynolds is the newly appointed director of nightlife economy for the city of Boston. Her role is not only to help Boston stay awake later, but also to imrpove the city's nightlife and entertainment econommy.

"We have 23 robust, unique, culturally diverse neighborhoods in the city of Boston, and we want to encourage not only fellow Bostonians, but folks who travel here to indulge in those neighborhoods," said Reynolds. "Part of that is looking for new policy and new ways to engage those neighborhoods."

Reynolds' role also focuses on the retention rate of Boston residents, and encouraging the thousands of college students and tourists to think of Boston as more than a temporary location.

"Folks go home, go to work, and go home, but we want folks to interact with each other and their community, and to build a sense of community. That's what will make people stay," said Reynolds.

Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Economic Oppurtunity and Inclusion launched the SPACE Grant program last year, a program funded by the American Rescue Plan which aims to promote small business growth in Boston industries most impacted by the pandemic. Companies will be able to recieve three-year grants up to 200 thousand dollars to help with startup costs.

GUESTS:

Corean Reynolds, the director of nightlife economy for Boston’s city government, previously the director of economic inclusion at The Boston Foundation.