February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
An emergency meeting to discuss the proposed ban on smoking by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City bars and bar restaurants has been called for Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 6 p.m. by the United Restaurant and Liquor Dealers of Manhattan.
The meeting will be held at in Annie Moore’s Restaurant, at 50 East 43rd St. and is open to “all members of the industry who are concerned about this proposed legislation.”
“This is an organizing meeting with people in our industry to come up with a plan of action,” said Jack Cooke, president of the URLD. “We are in an industry where we don’t roll over.”
Cooke said that the immediate courses of action would be to petition the City Council, then meet with as many council members as possible, as well as the City Council speaker, Gifford Miller.
“I have spoken with my colleagues in California and there is no doubt business did go down there,” he said, referring to that state’s tough anti-smoking laws.
Cooke added that the bill proposed by Bloomberg is stricter than the legislation in California, and would ban smoking even at outdoor cafT tables.
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“In California, there are bars with large outdoor decks where people might go and smoke,” Cooke said. “There are very few such bars in New York.”