GNI Spotlight – Project Director Bryan Tony, MPA, 24HourDallas

Bryan Tony, MPA, is the first Good Neighbor Initiative project manager and has led the program by being a tireless nightlife safety advocate. His greatest strength is his passion for collaborating with experts in the night-time economy and recruiting stakeholders to commit to change. Bryan is a versatile public policy professional with experience in non-profit, corporate, and community-based settings. He is skilled at engaging corporate stakeholders and community members, identifying key levers to meet diverse needs, promoting positive change, and influencing political and policymaking processes.

“Since A Safe Night Out training in April 2022, we have been hard at work implementing the City of Dallas’ Nightlife Assessment and Recommendations Report. Our cross-departmental monthly meetings with the City of Dallas continue to bear fruit, and more communication is happening inside and outside of Dallas City Hall than ever before. Our Quarterly Clubs, Pubs & Bars meetings, topical public training, and growing Copper Star Certification program are all shining examples of this. While more work remains ahead to make Dallas safer, more inclusive, and more vibrant at night, the public and private sectors are coming together to keep us on the right track.” – Bryan Tony

Copper Star Recognition

D Magazine recognized the Copper Star certification launch in an article titled “How Your Nighttime Business Can Become Certified to Safety.” The article discusses the launch of the Copper Star certification, “The group’s Good Neighbor Initiative has several pilot programs and is working with companies to help them become safer places for patrons. The group created the Copper Star Certification, a voluntary program that allows businesses to build trust with enforcement and law enforcement by demonstrating their commitment to safe night-time businesses, including any open or serving customers between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The certification may be codifying and writing down policies already in place, ensuring employees are trained, and operations are thought through.” (Maddox, D Magazine, 2022)

On August 22, 2022, Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax spoke at the Copper Star Certification Celebration to congratulate the first class of Copper Star-certified businesses and highlight the importance of the program to Dallas’ night-time economy

“24HourDallas and its Copper Star certified businesses are leading by example in the City of Dallas,” said Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “As the City of Dallas strives to promote real change, we recognize the valuable contributions these businesses have made to be more responsible, equitable, accountable, and legitimate parts of Dallas’ growing night-time economy” (Tony, 2022)

GNI Spotlight – Jose Ruiz, Supervisor, Dallas Code Compliances

“Currently, I supervise and oversee code enforcement and education initiatives related to business activities that occur at night and other nightlife activities in the City of Dallas. This includes all nighttime entertainment venues, restaurants, clubs, bars, stores, food trucks, vendors, and others.

Attending A Safe Night Out training and beginning a partnership and collaboration with 24HourDallas, has benefited and strongly influenced how my team and I engage with nightlife in the city. The training and meetings have helped establish a stronger working relationship with other city departments, as well as with our most important stakeholders, the business owners and the citizens of Dallas. One example that comes to mind is when a business owner proactively reached out to code, fire, and building inspections to correct potential issues, establish a personal connection with staff, and avoid potential future problems ” - Jose Ruiz

2. A Safe Night Out

Safe Night provides comprehensive strategies to municipal agencies, business owners, trade associations, business improvement districts, and community groups to build mutually beneficial relationships using an evidence-based, multicomponent approach called A Safe Night Out. This model provides a path to involve all stakeholders when implementing strategies to reduce alcoholrelated harm and improve safety and economic viability.

In April 2022, Safe Night staff, including Molly C. Mastoras, MA, LPC, President, Master Police Officer Dimitrios Mastoras (Ret.) Executive President and Dustin Lowe, Proactive Alliance Relationship-Based Policing Instructor, traveled to Dallas to teach A Safe Night Out to staff from the following agencies and organizations:

• 24HourDallas

• City of Dallas Attorney, Community Prosecution Office

• Dallas Police Department

• Dallas Fire and Rescue Department

• Dallas Code Compliance

• Dallas County Health and Human Services

• Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

• West End Association

• Methodist Dallas Medical Center

• Dallas restaurant, bar, and club owners

Safe Night’s nightlife management incorporates multi evaluating the need for nightlife management, collecting standards of operation for businesses that serve alcohol. Proactive Alliance approach. based municipal business owners while breaking down barriers collaborative problem 2022) they received from Safe Night. T from agency staff concepts for building relationships to improve collaborative problem the following in the survey:

• Proactive Alliance's relationship-based approach has changed the way they view themselves and the community

• City staff agrees that empathy helps them connect with the community while learning to become problem-solvers

• City staff feel they will be able to apply the knowledge learned and have more resources to work with when they are in the field

• Staff reported meeting and training with Dallas’ business owners and managers were very helpful to them

A Safe Night Out’s Impact in Dallas Community Training

On September 18, 2022, 24HourDallas organized the first active shooter response and “Stop the Bleed” training with the Dallas Police Department and Methodist Dallas Medical Center for the nightlife industry at the It’ll Do Club. Over fifty (50) staff from Dallas areas from restaurants, bars, and clubs attended the training. The joint training was covered by the television station CBS DFW News and on the radio by KRLD and WBAP

Monthly City Staff Meeting

24HourDallas leads monthly meetings with the City of Dallas staff including the Dallas Police, Dallas Fire-Rescue, Code Compliance, Community Prosecution, Transportation, Convention and Event Services, Planning and Urban Design, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and Dallas County Health and Human Services. The purpose of the regular meetings is to discuss how the city agencies can best address issues to help businesses succeed while achieving compliance with the law.

Quarterly Dallas Clubs, Pubs, and Bars

On July 18, 2022, 24HourDallas kicked off the Quarterly Dallas Clubs, Pubs, and Bars meeting at the Dallas Central Public Library to create a public forum between businesses and the City of Dallas. The event was well-attended, with over fifty (50) attendees, with media coverage including a KERA article and on KRLD radio.