NYPD to replace controversial, decades-old surprise nightlife raid policy

The NYPD’s controversial practice of raiding Big Apple nightspots is being put to bed, city officials said Thursday — following years of complaints from local businesses.

A new policy, announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday, would replace the Giuliani-era MARCH initiative — or Multi-Agency Response to Community Hotspots — that led to cops storming into bars and clubs for surprise inspections during business hours.

“Today, we are changing the way we engage with nightlife establishments by opening direct lines of communication with local businesses and giving them a chance to correct issues before enforcement takes place,” Adams said.

“New York City is the nightlife capital of the world, and this new initiative will help us protect public safety, ensure better quality of life, and keep business doors open for all to enjoy.”

The new initiative announced — dubbed Coordinating a United Resolution with Establishments, or CURE for short — requires local police precincts to speak with owners or managers about possible violations or neighborhood complaints before taking further action.

The city has long faced complaints about the decades-old policy of conducting unannounced blitzes, which sometimes led to the business being shuttered and which owners said amounted to harassment and scared off patrons.

CURE appears to take the NYPD’s protocol a step beyond the 2019 city council bill “Talks Not Raids,” which required semi-annual reporting on the raids and for the department to give businesses more information about why the action was taken.

New York City Office of Nightlife executive director Jeffrey Garcia praised the new policy as a win for business owners.

“They won’t have to constantly look over their shoulders,” he said during a news conference at the Paragon nightclub in Brooklyn.

But the change wasn’t welcomed by some cops and members of the city council, who believe the new approach is too lax and could backfire.

“More layers of bureaucracy will only prolong the existing quality-of-life issues,” said Queens Councilmember Robert Holden, adding, “I hope this does not backfire.”

“While the city’s commitment to collaborative problem-solving is important, eliminating MARCH operations might inadvertently send the wrong message to the scofflaws.”

A beat cop snapped to The Post that the more hands-off enforcement policy would lead to neighborhood concerns going unaddressed.

“These club owners know what they are doing is wrong,” the source said. “So I guess the new NYPD policy on this will be ‘Stop or I’ll say “Stop” again.'”

Other city agencies that have previously participated in MARCH will now also follow the new guidelines, including the Fire Department and Department of Buildings, but all agencies will still perform real-time inspections to address any immediate public safety concerns.

“The FDNY is happy to participate in this new, more equitable process,” said FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. “Our fire inspectors will continue to inspect reports of dangerous establishments and keep New Yorkers safe.”

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said “an engagement-first approach is the way forward” with the community.

“By collaborating with our city’s many local business owners and managers, this new process will enable our police officers to build trust and strengthen relationships throughout the five boroughs and further the NYPD’s mission of preventing crime and disorder while enhancing quality of life,” he said in a statement.