A young man I "taught" a couple jobs back is now an attorney who is representing one of the entities caught in the switches of this insidious smoking ban here in New Orleans.
Can you all pen or at least send the attached letter?
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1r6x...aBPoI/viewform
Quote:
I SUPPORT La Habana Hemingway Cigar Bar in New Orleans
Dear New Orleans City Council,
I write today in support of businessman Sergio Cabrera and his locally-owned business, La Habana Hemingway Cigar Bar. Recent changes to permitting and zoning laws have challenged La Habana’s ongoing operation. Mr. Cabrera is a hard-working, military war veteran who returned home from serving in Iraq and bought this business in 2010 to make a living for his family. Mr. Cabrera has worked studiously to navigate various ordinances and the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) so he can keep his doors open.
City Council members, I ask that you join us in supporting this local cigar bar.
Mr. Cabrera’s business does not neatly fit into any use category currently recognized by the city. It is neither fully a “restaurant” nor a “cocktail lounge.” Instead, cigar bars like La Habana Hemingway are unique businesses with loyal customers. La Habana Hemingway offers retail cigars for sale, along with memberships in cigar lockers and top-shelf spirits for customers to consume on site with their cigars. This type of business should be properly classified in New Orleans as it is in other parts of the country.
When you walk in La Habana Hemingway Cigar Bar, you feel as if you’ve stepped into a Cuban or Latin American storefront. There is no mistaking Mr. Cabrera’s business for any other type of establishment in the French Quarter. His business is important to the character of our community. We strongly urge the City of New Orleans to support La Habana Hemingway Cigar Bar’s ongoing operation.
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