The aforementioned parties are successful because they are music-driven gatherings that support local talent and where attendees are treated with respect. But what further separates Brooklyn’s after-hours parties from those of other cities are the passionate people who strategically and painstakingly curate these affairs.

One such curator is Mehmet Erkaya, a pioneer of the scene who helped start Blkmarket 10 years ago and now runs Bushwick A/V (as well as Brooklyn bar TBA, where Mixmag hosts The Lab NYC).

In a Williamsburg bar, Erkaya — who is single-handedly responsible for bringing the likes of Cassy and Jamie Jones to New York for the first time — revealed the components that go into throwing a successful after-hours.

“Throwing parties is not rocket science,” he says. “You need a good space, you need a good soundsystem, you need good DJs, you need good staff, you need good drinks, you need ice and you need water. If there is no heat, we rented heaters.

“If the space is really hot, we rented portable ACs,” Erkaya continues. “If it’s going to rain, we rented huge tents. If there are four bathrooms, we said ‘OK let's get 10 bathrooms.’ We gave people comfort. I got good bartenders. I got guys to clean up the place during the night because if you go to other warehouse parties, you can’t even walk around because there are cans and glasses everywhere.”

For more than 17 years, Erkaya has witnessed Brooklyn’s after-hours scene grow from when there were only a handful of events listed online, to now, when weekends resemble “music festivals” with dozens of parties.

At 4am, when people are at their most vulnerable, comfort is a necessity, and Erkaya asserts that his parties are successful because he provides his patrons with an unrestricted environment where anything goes. DJs can, according to Erkaya, explore opening the minds of partygoers, who are more flexible and pliable from being out all night.

“For me it’s a lot about freedom,” says Erkaya. “We want to be able to dance. There has to be some space and there has to be some freedom. At clubs there is too much security: ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t smoke a cigarette.’ We wanted freedom so we basically gave our crowd freedom to dance and freedom to be who they are."

“It was never about making money,” he continued. “Money eventually came but it came after years. But the nature of seeing people smiling, they’re coming to us and saying these are some of the best nights they’ve ever had. I’ve never been to Berlin, but people come up to me and say, ‘Thanks for creating Berlin here.’”