February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Sidetracks owner John Cregan said that bar staff and owners had to “act fast before a smoking ban passes that could be disastrous for our business.”
Last week, a number of bartenders and owners attended the city health committee hearing at City Hall, where they testified that the ban on smoking would damage business at a time when business was already depressed by the poor economy.
Brian Rohan, a spokesperson for the United Restaurant and Liquor Dealers said that the meeting would start at Sidetracks at 3 p.m. because this was an ideal “in-between” time for people working in the bar and restaurant business to get together.
Anecdotal sources have said that the mayor has gotten 22 of a necessary 26 votes in the City Council to pass his ban. Bar owners have insisted that they can still defeat the ban or at least force a compromise.
Sidetracks restaurant is at 45-08 Queens Blvd.