Tobacco Documents Online

Antismoking Law, in Its First Day, Draws Critics counts as a violation and what does Ity RRUCE WEItEIt not? Frank V. Mina called one of hls 1here were elght calls that could regular eating sputs yesterday be classilied us compluhus, aud morning to make sure he would still though lie would nol charactenee feel welcome there. The uews was them or name tile specllic venues, goud, and hmchtirne found Mr. Minu, Mr. Friedman said Ihe complaints a srnuker, at the bar u( Michael's rut deult with a range of places, (nchrd- Johu Streel near tile World 'fradc Ing "u small shnp, a hotel, a wcnk- Cenler, sltting with u rrewspaper, a place, a l,ingo selthrg, a croissant glass of red wine, u club sandwich shup und u cufd." and must perllrrenUy, u clgareue. Most people didn't seem terribly On the (h st day of New York Inconvenienced - yet. Hut tile klud City's slringent new untlsmoking Of grouc:hlness that Is umung New statute, Mr. Mtna, u civil and persun- York Ci1y's signatures wuy occuslun- al-InJury lawyer, was among many, srnukers and nunsmokers ullke, who expressed vexation over tile new law, the Smoke Free Air Acl, whlc:h prohibits or drastically restr icts smoking In public places. Including most city restaurants. "I find It a big part of the whole Big Brother Ihing Ihat's going un wlth everyhody," Mr. Mina suld of the law, which was enaclecl to pro-- tect nonsmukcrs'ul;alqsl the dangers of secupclhand smnkc und ullccls all restaurants with diiring urcas that seat more than 35 people. "I know a lot of people who did what I did, checking around for smaller reslau rants so they wouldn't have to deal with It." It was a Monday, a slow restau- rant day in any week, with a surpris- Ing nip In tile air that may have kept many midday diners at Iheir compa- ny cafelerias, so It was difficult to discern the potential (or acrimony that the new law seems destined to provoke. Sam Friedrnan, a spokes- man for the New York City Ilealth Department, which will monllor the complaints that the department will depend on to enforce the law, said that by midafternoon there had been hundreds of calls, but most were requests for clarification. What A spot survey of some restaurants reveals smoEie, and sometimes ire. "So (ar, so guod," said Kenny Lee, might be an Impetus to quit them- the msuragc;r of China 59, a beluw- selves. ground reslancrant on Nassau Street, "It's a nice opportunity," said :uonnd the corner frum Michael's. Raymond Kennedy, a novelist and "IJo smuking at all." Indeed, tile wrllhtg teacher who was chain- restaur anl, whirh seats uhnul 60 and smoking, legally, In the window seat was half (ull, was clearaired. Mr. of tile Cedar Tavern on University Lee said several r'egular customers T'luct: in Greenwich Village. "Every- who were snrnlcers had becn in yes- trne who smokes wants to stop." terduy and Ihal they ate wllhout People an bolh sldes of the Isstte srnulclni; n1 c:umplainrng. sut;gested Ihat a restaurant ought to 1'crh,rps, Mr. I.ec's uuracts a qui- he able to make policy for itselt, and et cllenlcle; elsewhere, ntany people many predicted lawsuits. fuund It hord tu du une wrthuul tile "I'nt not a smoker and I think It's ulhcr. crozy," said Ed Murtlnson, a con- "'Ihe word 'foolish' comes to tractor having lunch at the Cedar. mind," said Ann Brown of tile qew "I( it ain't broke, don't fix It." law, "Fxcrucialinl; and hulhcrsurne. One restaurant that seerns to be 'Ihis Is nul rnakrnl; auyhudy happy. operating Independenlly Is the Ear Wilhiu the next week, sumewhere in Inn, on Spring Slreet In Sollo. A New Yot k people are going to curry down-at-the-hcel-looking neighbor- out all but 35 chulrs In a restaurant, hood place that nonetheless serves a and then they're going Io start sntuk- hearty menu to a wide-ranging cllen- tele, it's one of those places that lulls Ms. Brown was, in tacl, smoking In the gray area of the new law. ovcr Iwrch ut tile Old ifomestead "The way we're reading tile regu- Itestnuranl un Ninth Avenue near Intlons, each of our dining rooms West 14iir Strcet; Ihc reslaurant had seats less than 35 people," said John rnude renovalluns In separate sruuk- Griffin, the burtender. True enoul;h, er s Ii om olher pau nns to lie In curu- hut tile two roorns - ttrt: [ronl room pllance with Ihe law. So she was with a popular bar, tile buck tount relatively happy for the day. fiut she simply for dining - are connected luuked lorwurd tu u good deal mare by a wide doorway that hurclly cli- hume visiting and entertainurg than vldcs the airspace. Uuring yesler- In tile past. day's lunch hour, there were maybe "1'ru going to be filling a lot of 50 people eating at once, and smok- dlnner pnrlies," she said.,"'fherc are ers In both the front anci tile back. less 1)raconian ways of wor king this "This Is like smoke heaven," said out." Erin Fitzgerald, n waitress who has In Iruth, il was difficult to draw been ut the Ear for a decucle. "I'eo- battle lines between smukers anci plc corne here to srnulce. Yeah, some- nonsmokers. Some nonsmokers limes people get annoyed, but they shrugged of/ the law yesterclay, say- learn not to come back here tiny ing Iltings were fine the way they more." were. Some smokers adrnllled that '1'he patrons In the back proved Ihey understood the cornplalnts of her polnt. ally on dlsplay, and spot checks at a variety of the city's resluurunts hidl- cule Ihat the law Is at least on pcu- ple's nrlnds. Restaurant owners and managers worried huw thcir busi- ness would be affected. 'Ihey wor- ried, too, what they would do when the first complaints from nonsmuk- ers came In and they were forced lo Intervene, favoring one customer over another. Mlchacl Owens, who owns Jim Brady's on Maiden Lane In the finan- cial dlstrict, said he would use a stnall Isolated section of four tables as a smoking section. "1'm not sure it's legal," he said. "We're going to try it." For the most part, however. these those whu didn't want to be saddled "1'rn here because I can smoke," kinds of worries went unreallzed with tile effects of ulhers' had hahils,_ said Kalhy Ilarbierl, u television ad- yesterday. and a few even sul;l;eslcd Ihal Ihis vertising saleswurnan. "And he-