Restaurant Smoking Ban Passed By Legislature

By Daniel J. McCue and Eric Usinger

After years of review, revision and battles, the Nassau County Legislature unanimously passed a smoking ordinance that will require many restaurants to construct smoking rooms and others to set aside at least 75 percent of their seats for nonsmokers.

"It's a much more workable law that will achieve the balance necessary for protecting the needs of people who want to be protected from secondhand smoke while protecting the economic needs of small restaurant owners," said Peter Schmitt, a Republican from Massapequa.

Schmitt, the deputy presiding officer of the legislature, was instrumental in drafting the legislation. He noted that the law's "bar exemption" maintains that small restaurants, like the Corner Galley and The Forest Inn, both in Massapequa, will be allowed to permit smoking at a designated bar area. "People can go right to the bar and have their cigarettes," said Schmitt.

Under the provisions of the new law, restaurants with 50 or more seats, not counting bar stools, will be required to either have a separate smoking room or ban smoking altogether. A restaurant with fewer than 50 seats would not have to go so far as to set up a separate smoking room, but would have to set aside 75 percent of its total seating area for nonsmokers. According to Schmitt, the laws' financial effect on small restaurants will be close to zero.

"I think it's a fair and reasonable law," said County Legislator Edward H. Ward. "In formulating the legislation, we recognized the fact that nobody's smoke free today, not completely anyway, and that it would be unreasonable to ask for that."

"In my view, this law is a smoking ban, but it is a ban with reasonable exceptions," he continued. "A total ban would have put restaurants like these out of business... and the last thing we want to do is hurt Main Street businesses."

"Overall, I'm very pleased and satisfied with the bill we adopted," said Legislator Vincent Muscarella.

"It's been a long and involved process, during which we heard from organizations and businesses that wanted to maintain the status quo, and from others, who wanted to see significant change in this area.

In addition to its restaurant-related provisions, the ordinance will allow smoking in bowling alleys after 6 p.m. - a change in the original wording of the bill which was seen by many as being too restrictive. The measure will also allow the Nassau County Department of Health to grant 24-month discretionary waivers to help some restaurants come into compliance.

The bill must now be signed into law by County Executive Tom Gulotta, who, since the installation of the new county legislature two years ago, has consistently maintained that he will not comment on pending legislative action.

After the vote, Gulotta said he would refrain from making any statement about the bill until it actually winds up on his desk. If he does sign it, the new law will take effect on July 1, 1998.

James L. Green, an attorney representing 50 diner owners, said his clients are now deciding whether they should challenge the measure in court. Diner owners, particularly those with small establishments, still believe that the law, as voted on Monday, will have a significant adverse effect on their business.

Patricia Bishop-Kelly of the American Cancer Society thanked the legislators for their action, but said "there still remains some significant concerns."

Claire Millman, of the Alliance for Smoke-Free Air and the Nassau-Suffolk Tobacco Control Task Force, however, was far less pleased.

"In ratifying this law," she said. "You have come up with a law that falls far short of its stated intent."

"Some of you have said that this is a good bill for now, and you'll do more at a later date. At the cost of how many more cases of respiratory disease, fatal and nonfatal heart attacks, and cancer among nonsmokers?"

Asked about such comments, Legislator Muscarella said one has to be careful and realistic when considering a change in the rule of the law. "When you look to ban something through legislation and move government from one point to another, it has to be recognized that you're not always going to see things proceed in a straight line.

"It's like when you go on vacation," Muscarella continued. "You don't always go straight from your home to your destination, you take detours and sightsee."