New York bar owners ready to fight back on new smoking ban
Bar and tavern owners in New York State are fighting to overthrow a tough new smoking ban which, they say, was rushed through into law with no trade consultation.
A growing lobby of businesses is threatening to take the state's own lawmakers to court over the new legislation, due to be enforced in July. The law is said to have been printed, passed and signed off in March in a matter of days, with no public hearings and little publicity.
It supercedes New York City's recent ban, and prohibits smoking in all workplaces. That includes all bars and restaurants, regardless of size and including outdoor areas. The few exceptions allowed include uncovered outdoor areas of restaurants, and where no more than 25% of the outdoor space is for smoking, plus Native American-run casinos and established cigar bars.
While the New York State Restaurant Association supports the ban, the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association (ESRTA) and the Innkeepers Association of Western New York (IAWNY) are staunchly opposed, saying it will cripple business.
They planned a bus rally earlier this week to the state capital of Albany, and members are calling, e-mailing and writing to senators. Some have protested by pulling the plug on state-owned lottery machines on their premises. Meanwhile, they are drawing up a lawsuit claiming that the new law is vague, unenforceable and, because of the alleged lack of consultation, unconstitutional.
"It's got to a point where it's not about the law, it's not about smoking, it's about freedom and democracy," said Everett "Skip" Boise, ESRTA national director and owner of The Tavern in Cortland, New York.
IAWNY director Stan Jemiolo, owner of Jemiolo's South Restaurant in Orchard Park, predicted that his alcohol sales would drop by 15% to 20%.
"That would put me out of business," he said. "We're very concerned about the air quality in our places, but we need to attract both smokers and non-smokers. We can't cut 25% of the population [the smokers] out of our lives."
Both organisations said they had been negotiating with lawmakers over a new ban and had suggested designated smoking areas and well-ventilated rooms. They said their provisions were suddenly dropped in favour of the tougher law.
Now, they want to renegotiate or have the current law amended. But Senator Charles Fuschillo, who sponsored the legislation, told Caterer that he would fight any such attempts.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 5 - 11 June 2003