2005

The Village Voice wins the Empire State Pride Agenda Award for Equality at Work. The Village Voice expands villagevoice.com to include daily editorial content, 12,000+ entertainment & shopping listings, and an expanded real estate and classified section. NBC renews Saturday Night Live's contract until 2012. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan declares unconstitutional the state's refusal to endorse same-sex marriages. Mayor Bloomberg appeals the decision. Mayor Bloomberg proclaims Monday, May 16, 2005 in the City of New York as: "Village Voice OBIE AWARDS DAY" to celebrate the 50-year history of the award. The 5th Annual Village Voice Siren Music Festival at Coney Island. Spoon, Mates of State, Brendan Benson, Dungen, VHS or Beta, Q and Not U, The Dears, Saul Williams, Ambulance LTD, Diamond Nights, Morningwood, Be Your Own Pet, Detachment Kit, Nine Black Alps, Tommie Sunshine, and The Notorious SHOUT! DJs perform on two stages. The Voice web site debuts RSS formats and Michael Musto and Robert Christgau begin podcasting. Despite non-stop rallies by musicians and residents, CBGB's landlord declines to renew the famous rock club's lease. Clarence Norman, Jr., the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party (one of the largest Democratic organizations in the nation) is convicted of soliciting campaign contributions and will face up to eight years in prison. The son of a prominent Brooklyn minister who grew up to practice law and become an insider in the New York political system, he was the first black Democratic leader in Brooklyn. Village Voice Media announces plans to merge with New Times Media to form the nation's largest alternative media company. The new company will be called Village Voice Media and will publish free weekly newspapers and Web sites in seventeen of the nation's largest markets. The Voice mourns the passing of Robert Kasner, Circulation Director and a S.V.P. for Village Voice Media. The Voice mourns the passing of Sarah Jewler, former managing editor.