Because there really needs to be more fuel added to the smoking ban issue, The Post reports that, in the past year, only $433,185 has been collected from smoking violations. The fine per violation ranges from $200 to $2000 depending on whether there were previous violations or not.
Those against the plan wonder if the fines collected even pay for the 100 people that have enforcing the law, while enforcement officials say that the low number means people are obeying the law.
The Post lets us know that $24 million was collected for sanitation fines, but Gothamist knows that there are more opportunities to fine for littering than there are for smoking. It would be nice if there were some way of comparing the number of bars and smoking violations to the number of potential sanitation violators to its fines.
Gothamist on the smoking ban and its anniversary and affecting businesses.
