October 23, 2006
Ban on Cell Phones in Restaurants Is Reconsidered by Councilman
The chairman of the City Council's Consumer Affairs Committee, Leroy Comrie, is backing away from a bill he was set to introduce that would have added city eateries to the list of places where cell phones are outlawed. The New York Daily Sun reports.
"... The bill would have applied only during dinner hours to "white linen" restaurants, not fast-food places like McDonald's or family chains such as Applebee's. But after hearing opposition from restaurant-industry officials, Mr. Comrie says he probably won't introduce the bill at all.
While the lawmaker said he expected restaurant owners to welcome the bill as a way to crack down on rude customers, the response was the opposite. Industry officials said restaurants could handle the thorny issue by themselves and argued that a no-cell-phone law would harm business rather than help it.
"The restaurant business is an industry we want to flourish and support, and not unduly burden with over-regulation," Mr. Comrie said, adding: "I don't want to be seen as anti-business."
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