A bouncer at a trendy Manhattan nightclub was stabbed to death after he tried toenforce New York's tough new anti-smoking law.
Police said the bouncer was stabbed in the early hours ofyesterday morning in the Guernica club on the Lower East Sideafter asking one of two brothers in the club to put out acigarette.
After an argument with the men, the bouncer tried to ejectthem and was stabbed in the stomach "with an unknown sharpobject," police said.
The bouncer, Dana (Shazam)Blake, 32, died of his injuries.
The two brothers, Jonathan Chan, 29, and Ching Chan, 31, ofManhattan's Chinatown were scheduled to appear in court todayon charges of assault, criminal possession of aweapon and resisting arrest, police and prosecutors said.
New York's tough new law banning smoking in bars andrestaurants, with very few exceptions, was pushed by MayorMichael Bloomberg, a former smoker who has turned into ananti-smoking zealot.
The law, which came into effect on March30 and penalizes first-time offenders with a $200 fine, wasdesigned to protect workers in the city's 13,000 bars andrestaurants that have allowed smoking.