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Common Ground Sought on Anti-Smoking Bill 

Officials from Nassau, Suffolk, New York City and Westchester met in Mineola yesterday to seek consensus on their varying proposals to prohibit smoking in workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

The meeting, billed as a Clean Indoor Air Summit, was organized by lawmakers from Nassau, who with other legislators are advocating uniform smoking restrictions throughout the downstate region.

"I would like to see us come up with a bill that we could all pass," Thomas Abinanti, who chairs the Westchester County board of legislators' health committee, told his colleagues.

Debate quickly arose about how the bills should be crafted, whether they should cover workplaces exclusively, or specifically define establishments and areas the proposals would affect. No decisions were reached yesterday, but the group of about 10 legislators and other officials agreed to meet again at an unscheduled date. . .

The summit drew reaction from the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association. The group's president, Bill Leudemann, said during a news conference in Farmingville - held at the same time the summit was being held - that such smoking restrictions would cripple businesses.

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