CIG-BAN BURNS

By DES O'BRIEN
Des O'Brien is the president of the United Restaurant and Tavern Owners
Association of New York.


February 16, 2004 -- KAPPA Beta Phi, whose motto is "we sing, we dance," should
now be changed to "we sing, we dance, we smoke" - after recent published
reports outed the esteemed society's blatant disregard for Mayor Bloomberg's
silly smoking ban, and in his presence no less.
We should fear for Bloomberg. After all, by virtue of his own reasoning, the
mayor put his life and well-being on the line, by subjecting himself to what he
sees as the detrimental and life-threatening effects of that group's
second-hand smoke - and from cigars, to boot!

Bloomberg, remember, proclaimed that such smoke kills up to 1,000 people a
year, in New York City alone.

Fortunately for him, however, there is not one shred of scientific evidence to
back that claim (or for that matter one signed death certificate anywhere that
cites the cause of death as second-hand smoke).

On the other hand, the smoking ban that went into effect last March has brought
about much distress to our industry and those who work in it.

In a recent statement by the New York City chapter of the New York State
Restaurant Association (NYSRA), Executive Vice-President Chuck Hunt noted that
"the city's bar, tavern and nightlife operations have suffered mightily as a
result of the smoking ban."

In a membership survey the group conducted in November and December of 2003, 76
percent of the respondents reported a decline of 25 percent or more in bar
sales and 15 percent or more in food sales.

NYSRA's statement is significant for two reasons.

* It is the first acknowledgement from NYSRA that the law hurts the hospitality
industry. Before its passage, NYSRA had supported the law.

* It clearly refutes the mayor's much-hyped assertion that people would dine
out and drink more as a result of the ban.

The ban also has resulted in an epidemic of quality-of-life complaints that
have maligned our trade ever further. Ironically, we warned our political
leaders of these issues before the ban became law, but to no avail.

Quality-of-life problems have grown because, under the law, hordes of smokers
are forced out onto the sidewalks, particularly at late-night establishments,
including in residential neighborhoods.

That, in turn, has prompted Bloomberg to call for new legislation to require
establishments to be licensed if they're open and make noise past 1 a.m. Such
legislation, which the mayor now says he may not pursue in earnest until next
year, would severely curtail post-1 a.m. social activity - and business.

There is a clear danger to the city's multi-million-dollar hospitality industry
in this proposed legislation, with many places forced to close down at 1 a.m.

And this is supposed to be the city that never sleeps!

Our industry agrees that that we need to provide a safe and secure work
environment for our employees. And we sympathize with our residential neighbors
over the stress and frustration that they are suffering as a result of the
noise levels on our streets at night.

The simple solution is to get people back inside the bars and restaurants, and
off the streets. To achieve this, we must have reasonable amendments to the
current law. These might include:

* Permission to create smoking rooms, equipped with hospital grade
air-filtration systems.

* A tax credit of some sort for places that choose to remain entirely
non-smoking.

The New York State Smoke Free Air Act allows for waivers to the smoking ban,
based on state-audited proof of economic hardship. Several upstate bars have
already received those waivers, and many more applications are being
considered.

Unfortunately, despite the now obvious drop in business here, the New York City
Department of Health will not issue any waivers whatsoever.

This is an outrage. Several state senators, assemblymen and City Council
members support such relief and amendments. It is time for our political
leaders to listen to their constituents and take corrective measures.
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Perhaps the pendulum is beginning to swing back.

bernie
"official ASC Shaman"

Not likely. When's the last time a nanny admitting being wrong?

--
Father Dale, RangeMaster
Guns for Nuns, inc.
http://dlorr.home.att.net
a non-prophet web site

Does blowing your own head off in an underground bunker count as an
admission?

Mickey

Not really. He was just avoiding worse punishment....

In article <nHaYb.32875$hR.817041@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
dlorrDIESPAMMERS!@att.net says...

They don't have to.

The nannies are in the minority. Most people are followers. When the
businesses start to close, and thier lives are affected, they will do
what it takes to make things right.

The big problem right now is that it has been very politically incorrect
to point out the relative harmlessness of ETS. And even if you wanted
to, where could you do it? The papers won't print it. The news won't
report it. They are not interested in facts.

More people will not have to smoke. More people will have to see the
truth. It is happening already. The pendulum will swing back. I just
hope it happens before things get any worse...

--
Joe LaVigne
SS00 - SS01 - SS02 - SALT00 - HITS2001 - HITS2002 - HITS v6.0
HITS 7 - Coming February 28th - http://www.hits-buffalo.com
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e-mail to jlavigne@myrealbox.com

Unfortunately one State has added recently (I think one of the eastern
states) "Tobacco related" onto the death certificate. This seems to me
more of a political statement than truly relevant. If Pennsylvania adds
that to their death certificates I'll refuse to endorse it.
CigarBaron

: February 16, 2004 -- KAPPA Beta Phi, whose motto is "we sing, we dance," should
: now be changed to "we sing, we dance, we smoke" - after recent published
: reports outed the esteemed society's blatant disregard for Mayor Bloomberg's
: silly smoking ban, and in his presence no less.
: We should fear for Bloomberg. After all, by virtue of his own reasoning, the
: mayor put his life and well-being on the line, by subjecting himself to what he
: sees as the detrimental and life-threatening effects of that group's
: second-hand smoke - and from cigars, to boot!

Wow, another "do as I say, not as I do" and "I got mine so screw you"
Republican. What a surprise.

Actually.. Bloomberg is a Lifelong Democrap. He changed labels just in time
to run for the election.

The leopard can't change his spots, though, it appears.

I can think of about 200 extremely wealthy Democrats off the top of my head
(Bill Gates, Soros, Warren Buffet, the Hollyweird elite..) but only a couple
Republicans. Talk about "got theirs" and wanting to keep it. Buffet wants to
raise taxes, but all his income is capital gains. IIRC, he wants to REDUCE
the CG tax rate.
--
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions".