Tim Blair

DAVID USBORNE locates pockets of

DAVID USBORNE locates pockets of resistance in New York:

Don't say it out loud, but there are still places where you can go and light up along with your beer. I will be trying a couple of them in the Lower East Side this evening. Just as in the days of prohibition, when liquor was the devil, word of these smoke-easies has slowly spread. But it is hard to know how much longer even they will be available for the refugees from Michael's law. This is because the Health Department allowed one month's grace before the inspectors actually begin to issue the summonses that will bring the fines. That runs out on 1 May, after which it is possible that even the deepest of dives will start to toe the line.