It’s 12 a.m. on a freezing Saturday in February and the line at Copacabana in Midtown Manhattan stretches around the block.

“Get your IDs out, get your IDs out folks,” a big security guard shouts as the line gets longer and longer. Police officers are also there to lend a helping hand. Cars and more cars keep arriving as people jump out and hand over their keys to attendants for $30 valet parking.

The security is tight with three different points manned by hefty guards who are courteous and efficient. Inside, the old and young dance and swing their hips to salsa music.

Dancers inside the Copacabana. PHOTO: Elva Ramirez

A white limo pulls up to the door and Vincent Reyes, 31, and three of his friends emerge, a photographer snapping photos the entire time. An entourage is waiting for them, whisking them past the doorman, security and into the club where a table is waiting in the VIP section with Absolut vodka and mixers.

Leading the way is Anny Petrocelli, 24, pretty and energetic, wearing a giant faux pearl necklace and bracelet and silver heels. Petrocelli, who is a makeup artist by day, works one night a week as a PartyBuddy, making sure that people like Reyes receive star treatment when they enter a club.

“A lot of clients don’t know the club scene, so I make them feel comfortable,” Petrocelli said. “I pour drinks and make them feel attended to … I make sure everyone is happy.”

PartyBuddys is the brainchild of James King and Jason Roefaro, both 30 and from Union City, N.J. The business was conceived in March 2004 as a way to make ordinary people feel like celebrities through a night of VIP treatment and it has shown more than 150 groups of clients how to live the nightlife. With PartyBuddys there is no waiting in long lines or depending on the approval of a doorman to get inside a hot nightspot.

 “It’s a brand new idea, no one else does this in the world,” King said. “The club scene can be a hassle, and we annihilate all of that.”

Reyes brought his sister and two friends out to celebrate his new job as a pharmaceutical sales representative. The group, from northern New Jersey  has been to Manhattan clubs before, but a night of fun can turn into an hassle.

“We love to dance, but the reason we don’t want to go is you have to wait on line and it takes forever to get in and then there’s a huge cover charge,” said Jennifer D’Aloia, 32, a friend of Reyes and an occupational therapist. “Tonight we got right in. All I saw was my PartyBuddy’s hand waving us through, hearing ‘come on, come on.’”