Helped establish the early Facebook presence for Limelight, creating daily content and working with Peter Gatien's daughter to help preserve and extend the club's legacy online.
The Limelight was one of the most iconic nightclubs in New York City history — a deconsecrated church turned cultural epicenter that defined New York nightlife through the 1980s and 1990s. After Peter Gatien's legal battles and the club's closure, the brand effectively ceased to exist. No active presence, no digital footprint, no community space — just memory, mythology, and scattered archival imagery.
In 2007, while working with Freelancers Union, I founded the official Limelight NYC Facebook page as a historical archive and community gathering point, bringing the brand into the digital age before it had any meaningful online presence. The timing was deliberate — Peter Gatien was preparing to open CiRCA in Canada, and the page served a dual purpose: preserving the Limelight legacy for the community that had lived it, while also helping build awareness and momentum for his return to the nightlife world.
In 2011 I worked with Jennifer "Jen" Gatien during the promotion of her documentary about her father and the Limelight era, helping amplify the film to the community the page had built. The page contributed directly to the documentary's reach and visibility.
I founded the page, still own it, and continue to manage it today. It has grown to over 5,100 followers — a community built entirely around a brand that had no digital existence before 2007.
The Challenge
The Limelight brand had enormous cultural recognition but virtually no digital presence. The club was closed, the brand was dormant, and the community that had built around it had no gathering point. The challenge was to create something from nothing — founding a digital presence for a brand that no longer officially existed, while honoring its history authentically enough to earn the trust of people who had actually lived it.
The Approach
I approached it as three overlapping objectives: historical preservation, community reunion, and active promotion. The archive had to be credible and comprehensive enough to draw in the original community. The community space had to feel like a genuine home for people connected to the Limelight era. And the promotional work — first for CiRCA, then for Jen Gatien's documentary — had to be woven into that foundation without overwhelming it.
The Solution
Founded and built the official Limelight NYC Facebook page in 2007 as a historical archive, creating daily content drawn from the club's history, imagery, and cultural legacy. Built and managed the community around the page, reconnecting people from the original Limelight era. Used the platform to support awareness of Peter Gatien's new venue CiRCA in Canada as it opened. Coordinated with Jennifer 'Jen' Gatien in 2011 to help promote her documentary about her father and the Limelight era to the page's established community. Grew the page to 5,100+ followers entirely organically, building from zero digital presence.
The Results
The Limelight NYC page became the definitive digital home for the club's legacy, growing to over 5,100 followers from a baseline of zero. The page supported visibility for both Peter Gatien's CiRCA venue and Jen Gatien's 2011 documentary. The community built around it remains active. I founded the page in 2007, still own it, and continue to manage it today.