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Antismoking Law, in Its First Day, Draws Critics By BRUCE WE[iER Frank V. Mina called one of his regular eating spots yesterday morning to make sure he would still, feel welcome there. The news was good, and lunchtime found Mr. Mina, a smoker, at the bar of Michael's on John Street near the World Trade Center, sitting with a newspaper, a glass of red wine, a club sandwich and most pertinently, a cigarette. On the first day of New York City's stringent new antismoking statute, Mr. Mina, a civil and person- al-Injury lawyer, was among many, smokers and nonsmokers alike, who expressed vexation over the new law, the Smoke Free Air Act, which prohibits or drastically restricts smoking in public places, including most city restaurants. "I find it a big part of the whole Big Brother thing that's going on with everybody," Mr. Mina said of the law, which was enacted to pro- tect nonsmokersaEalgst the dangers of secondhand smoke and affects all restaurants with dinfng areas that seat more than 35 people. "I know a lot of people who did what I did, checking around for smaller restau- rants so they wouldn't have to deal with ft." It was a Monday, a slow restau- rant day in any week, with a surpris- ing nip In the air that may have kept many midday diners at their compa- ny cafeterias, so It was difficult to discern the potential for acrimony that the new law seems destined to provoke. Sam Friedman, a spokes- man for the New York City Heaith Department, which will monitor 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 0T0cfE9r0a counts as a violation and what does not? There were eight calls that could be classified as complaints, and though he would not characterize them or name the specific venues, Mr. Friedman said the complaints dealt with a range of places, includ- ing "a small shop, a hotel, a work- place, a bingo setting, a croissant shop and a caf6." Most people didn't seem terribly Inconvenienced - yet. But the kind of grouchiness that Is among New York City's signatures was occasion- A spot survey of some restaurants reveals smoke, and sometimes ire. ally on display, and spot checks at a variety of the city's restaurants Indi- cate that the law Is at least on peo- ple's minds. Restaurant owners and managers worried how their busi- ness would be affected. They wor- ried, too, what they would do when the first complaints from nonsmok- ers came In and they were forced to intervene, favoring one customer over another. Michael Owens, who owns Jim Brady's on Maiden Lane in the finan- cial district, said he would use a small isolated section of four tables as a smoking section. "I'm not sure it's legal," he said. "We're going to try it." For the most part, however, these kinds of worries went unrealized yesterday. "So far, so good," said Kenny Lee, the manager of China 59, a below- ground restaurant on Nassau Street, around the curner from Michael's. "No smoking at all." Indeed, the restaurant, which seats about 60 and was half full, was clear-aired. Mr. Lee said several regular customers who were smokers had been in yes- tertlay and that they ate without smoking or complaining. Perhaps, Mr. Lee's attracts a qui- et clienlele; elsewhere, many people found it hard to do one without the other. "The word 'foolish' comes to mind," said Ann f3rown of the new law, "Excruciating and bothersome. This Is not making anybody happy. Within the next week, somewhere in New York people are going to carry out all but 35 chairs In a restaurant, and then they're going to start smok- Ing." Ms. Brown was, In fact, smoking over lunch at the Old Homestead Restaurant on Ninth Avenue near West 14ih Street; the restaurant had made renovations to separate smok- ers from other patrons to be in com- pilance with the law. So she was relatively happy for the day. But she looked forward to a good deal more home visiting and entertaining than in the past. "I'm going to be filling a lot of dinner parties," she said. "There are less Draconian ways of working this out." In truth, It was difficult to draw battle lines between smokers and nonsmokers. Some nonsmokers shrugged off the law yesterday, say- ing things were fine the way they were. Some smokers admitted that they understood the complaints of those who didn't want to be saddled with the effects of others' bad habits, and a few even suggested that this might be an impetus to quit them- selves. "It's a nice opportunity," said Raymond Kennedy, a novelist and writing teacher who was chain- smoking, legally, in the window seat of the Cedar Tavern on University Place in Greenwich Village. "Every- one who smokes wants to stop." People on both sides of the Issue suggested that a restaurant ought to be able to make policy for itself, and many predicted lawsuits. "I'm not a smoker and I think It's crazy," said Ed Martinson, a con- tractor having lunch at the Cedar. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." One restaurant that seems to be operating independently Is the Ear Inn, on Spring Street In SoHo. A down-at-the-heel-looking neighbor- hood place that nonetheless serves a hearty menu to a wide-ranging clien- tele, it's one of those places that falls In the gray area of the new law. "The way we're ieading the regu- lations, each of our dining rooms seats less than 35 people," said John Griffin, the bartender. True enough, but the two rooms - the front room with a popular bar, the back room simply for dining - are connected by a wide doorway that hardly di- vides the airspace. During yester- day's lunch hour, there were maybe 50 people eating at once, and smok- ers in both the front and the back. "This is like smoke heaven," said Erin Fitzgerald, a waitress who has been at the Ear for a decade. "Peo- ple come here to smoke. Yeah, some- times people get annoyed, but they learn not to come back here any more." The patrons In the back proved her point. "I'm here because I can smoke," said Kathy Barbieri, a,television ad- vertising saleswoman. "And be-

Anecl FrAncoi7Te New York Tlmee Frank V. Mina enjoyed a cigarette yesterday, part of a lunchtime constitutional at Michael's on John Street, in the financial district. Smokers and nonsmokers alike expressed vexations with the city's stringent antismoking law, which went into effect yesterday. cause they serve good food." A colleague, Carol Caracappa, who was also smoking at the table, added, referring to the new law: "It stinks. What are we supposed to do with ourselves? I'm disappointed in (ire tot)acco lobby. They didn't fight hard enough." The women were filling the back of the Ear with blue clouds. But at the next table, Frank Cillone, a real estate manager who doesn't smoke and said he thought the new law was terrific, was asked if he minded. "What?" he said. "Oh. I didn't really notice It." t RTw 04/11 0609 Tou gh new smoking ban takes effect in New York By Ellen Wulfhors NEW YORK, April (Reuter) - Smokers cursed and supermodels stole puffs on the street on Monday while restaurant owners fumed over New York City's tough new laws banning smoking in most of the city's eateries. The laws, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) Monday, prohibit smoking in mid-sized and large restaurants, in outdoor sports arenas and in most sidewalk cafes. Smoking is allowed in restaurants that seat fewer than 35 people, in separate bars of larger restaurants and in stand-alone bars. "It's made the bar very busy and the dining room very yuiet," said Hugh Connolly, owner of Desmond's Tavern. "I'd say I've lost 20 to 30 percent of the people who would have eaten in the dining room." And customers' reaction? "I've gotten a few four-letter words regarding government and Mr. (Mayor Rudolph) Giuliani," he said. Mayor Giuliani signed the new regulations in January after a heated debate in the City Council. At posh Le Cirque, manager Marco Maccioni reported a top fashion model eating lunch ducked outside several times between courses to have a smoke. "The ban is going to cripple the demand," he said. "And our hands are tied because our bar is in the same room as our main dining room." Several restaurant owners said they would launch a renewed lobbying effort against the regulations they say will take a drastic and unjust toll on business. "A lot of people are going to wind up being hurt," said Joan Borkowski, owner of Billy's Restaurant, at a news conference. "A lot of my customers have said, 'We love your food. We love your staff. We love you but, as much as we don't want to, we're going to have to • find an alternative,"' she said. At the same news conference, the Alexandria, Va.-based National Smokers Alliance cited studies showing smokers dine out more often than nonsmokers and would dine out less if smkin • were banned. But New York City's hea th commisstoner, r. Margaret - amburf;, said in other cities with smoking restrictions, studies showed the fears of lost business were unfounded. "I, like most New Yorkers, want my food'and the environment in which I'm eating to be healthy, and I know that many restaurants who are afraid of a loss of business will be greatly encouraged when they see it is not occurring," she said. Restaurant owners insist the old system -- with separate smoking and non-smoking sections -- was working fine. "In 12 years, we never had a night we were so overwhelmed with nonsmokers that we couldn't adjust to it," said LeCirque's Maccioni. Many restaurants said it won't be until this weekend, when business picks up, that they see the impact of the new laws. "'lhere's no major conflict so far, and nobody has lit up in the dininl; room," Connolly said. "But I'm waiting to see what hiiphens when somebody does." I:EUTER TTOUCH09_

r • i ]eys to outdoor(I) automatic teller machines. The rules specify that every compaay, whether it occupies a tiny suite or a building covering an entire block, can have at most one common smoking room per floor - and then only as long as "such room does not exceed 300 square feet." I asked the City Council Speaker, Peter ValIone, what was so evil about a smoking room measuring 20 feet by 20 feet? Or maybe even two smoking rooms on a large floor? "I have no problem with that," Vallone replied, "but the majority sentiment was that you can't allow too many of these areas per floor. You have to have definable areas and specific numbers or you can't enforce the law" He said it so genially that it al- most sounded reasonable: ar- bitrary rules must be imposed to make it easier for bureau- Q'ats to enforce theln. If Comstock formed his society today, he could probably adapt his stlategy to the spirit of modern New York govern- ment: "You must regulate them as you would rats, with- out mercy." Wllat made New York ap- pealing for so long was the escape it offered from provin- cial rules, the refuge that Sin City provided from small- town small-mindedness. Broadway audiences used to snicker at the scene in 'I'he Music Man" when a con man convinces the good folks of River City, Iowa, that the toWn's new pool table will turn their children into "cig'a- rette fiends" with a 'jungle animal lnsunct." As of mid- night, The Big Nanny - or should it be "Big Nan, NY" on the bumper sticker? - will be watching closely for any such behavior. Smut is no longer welcome here, and ' s that touch tobacco will not touch food in our rescau- rants. If you want sin, my friends, you might do better in River Clty.  i -13- .. .Jw ~2 LEOOAOY 0 tempora, b mores! As long-ago radio news anchor Gabriel walls remained adorned with Peter Arno Heatter used to begin his (usually dolor- and Whitney Darrow Jr. cartoons from ous) wartime broadcasts to a waiting na- The New Yorker. there was a framed dol- tion. "Ah, there's bad news torught." lar bill dated 1959 from then-Treasury I feel sort of like Mr. Heatter at the mo- Secretary Robert B. Anderson to 21 Club ment. being a drinker and. though not qw~er Peter Kriendler, plus two framed currently a smoker, one who enjoys the (rearl horseshoes worn at Hialeah in 1956 pungent scent of someone else's cigar or '' by Nashua.Attd by now a guy named cigarette. Or like actor Ned Sparks. a sourpuss who at least once in each of his movies would be asked by a small urchin. "But don't you ever smtle, Mr. Sparks?" and Sparks would reply, "I'm smiling now. Sonny." Well, at the moment. I am both sour- pussed and dolor- ous. There ts bad news and no way around it. At the 21 Club, the owner fired the man who's been r,n.,,ng the 7otnt. Ken Aretsky. And on this very day, April 10, a no- satoking ordi- nance goes into RrsdT effect for restau- tants and gin mills all over New York city. First to the more precisely defined sub- ject of the 21 Club (as opposed to the cos- moloqtcal matter of whether Amencans are to be allowed to purchase tobacco. pay enormous taxes and then not be per- mitted to light up the stuff). When I read in The New York Obacrrer and on Page Six of the New York Post that the owner of 21. Marshall Cogan. had sacked Kenny Aretsky. the manager. on grounds Mr. Aretsky was making too much money (a reported 5400.000 a year) and liked to sit around the place eventngs dining with his pals enjoying himself. I figured I'd better get right over there and cover the story. It was a pleasant Monday afternoon. sunny and spnnglike. and when I got to West 52nd Street there was no sign of combat, no bullet holes in the historic old facade, no blood in the vestibule through which over the years nave strode the glo- ries of Madison Avenue. Broadcast Row, and through which. on the way out, was borne General of the Anmes Omar Brad- ley on the day he died. passing out within those stoned walls. Harry. who has been there since shortly after Prohibition was repealed. greeted me at the door. It was lust past 5 p.m and I strolled into the bar, prepared to elbow my way to the mahogany for a refresh- ment. But there was no one to elbow. Just five out of towners knocking back a quick one prior to sitting down to an early din- ner and tnqutnngQf waiters and one an- other. "How do you get.to Madison Square Garden from tiere?" Ettore the bannan fetched me a glass. E;cept that the joint ivas empty, all seened normal. And. after all, it was a M:rtday during Lent. Michael the chef (he's been there eight years and been the top man for the past six) came out to welcome me aboard. "Seventy-five years they've been in busi- ness." he satd, referring to antecedent es- tablishments. "and 65 years in this build- ing. It'll be here when you and I are gone." I lifted a glass to that and glanced about the barroom (three women had now entered). All seemed routine. Junk still hung from the ceilings, the Dick O'Connor was puffing away at a su- perb cigar. I've been going to the 21 Club since the Marine Corps set me free in 1952 and I've known Ken Aretskv since he and his part- ner Steve Ohrenstetn operated an Upper East Side saloon called Oren & Aretsky's . (Oren's kid is now the first Jewish quar- terback in Notre Dame htstoryl and I am quite sure both 21 and Mr. Aretskv will survive the current unpleasantness and. a year from now. the drinkers will be back bellying up to the bar on 52nd Street and that Ken will be runrung another great place and that I will be attending and spending money at both establishments. That u, if there are any jointu left in New York from this new law that goes into effect today! Who will be the first New Yorker ar- tested by the smoke ooltce for lighttng uo a Marlboro? At a tune when in Wasmng- ton they are busily dismantling clean air regulations so that it is more permissible to pollute America. New York's City Council, which somehow didn't get the word that's the direction things are going these days. voted in this new no-smoking bill. So even as you read this, the smoke po- lice will be out there. truncheons in hand and cuffs at the readv, legally enabled and apparently wtlling, to haul you off for tgntting a Lucky at Elaine's or a Co- hiba at the Four Seasons. Several years So even as you read this, the smoke police will be out there, truncheons in hand and cuffs at the ready, legally enabled and ap- parently willing, to haul you off for Igniting a Lncky at Elaine's or a Cohiba at the Four Seasons. ago when the subject was first bntited about. Tom Margttut of the Seasons re- marked to me. "Can you see me going over to Sandy Weill after lunch and tell- ing Sandy he can't light a cigar?" No, frankly, I couldn't. But as of today, the Black Manahs will be presumably out there at the East 52nd Street curb, ready to cart off Mr. Weill (and perhaps Mr. Margittai. as a co-conspirator) to Rikers Island to join the crack dealers, graffiti vandals and assorted wiseguys who make up this city's penal population. I am frequently wrong and may be so now, but I think this law is going to be as widely ignored as Prohibition and will bring down derision on the heads of its sponsors and reinforce the notion around here there are lots of laws you don't have to acknowledge. And on the enforcement side, we've got 30.000 cops, not enough to keep up with the sex perverts. And now they're going to be bursting through the doors of Tavern on the Green to club smokers to their knees and drag them off in chains? What next? Flogging, the ducking stool, an iron cage to St, Helena's. branding and the thumb screw? Is New York to become the new Singapore? 0