M2 Poised To Reopen After Paying A Paltry $7,500 Fine

All in all, 2010 has not been the best year for M2 owner Joey Morrisey. Following a New York Times expose on smoking in nightclubs, the city of New York made a big show of raiding five bars that were deemed to flagrantly disregard the smoking ban. Of the five, the city went after M2 the hardest, vowing to shut it down based on the evidence that their new, more attractive inspectors had collected. M2 managed to stay open for three months as they attempted to work out a settlement over the smoking charge, until one day in April, the NYPD shut the whole place down using the city's nuisance law. The SLA followed suit and revoked their liquor license. M2 and sister club Pink have been closed ever since, but finally some good news is on the horizon. M2 has finally reached a deal with the city, allowing them to reopen after paying a $7,500 fine.

M2 will also have to come up with a detailed plan on how it will stop its patrons from smoking, something that it had already presented in the spring when all of the trouble really started. To summarize, M2 was out of business for three months and only has to pay a measly $7,500 fine to reopen! The city would have probably been better off letting the place stay open and collecting the sales tax it generates from booze, and collecting the $7,500 on top of that. Let's hope the second half of 2010 is better than the first.
· Manhattan club M2 Ultra Lounge Must Pay $7.5G in Fines; Set to Reopen [NYDN]
· Agreement Broken: Cops Shut Down M2 Again [~ENY~]
· M2 Coverage [~ENY~]