Not a drag: NYC neighbors end cigar smoke lawsuit

[February 24, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Where there's smoke, there are $2,000 fines in one New York City apartment building.

A pact among neighbors on Manhattan's Upper East Side calls for one to stop puffing on cigars in his apartment -- or pay the others $2,000 per smoke. Cigar fancier Harry Lysons and next-door neighbors Russell and Amanda Poses inked the deal last week. The Poses had said in a lawsuit the cigar fumes made their playroom and dining room unusable and made their children sick. Lawyer Jeffrey Marcus says the retired Lysons has long enjoyed ending the day with a cigar at home but will smoke on the street from now on. The Poses' lawyer, John Churneftsky, says they just wanted to make their apartment livable and are happy to have the issue resolved. [Associated Press] Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.