Metro

City fumes as clubs smoke on

The city is failing to snuff out smoking speakeasies.

No trendy club or neighborhood pub has ever been shuttered for repeat smoking violations, despite the city having the authority to yank their licenses after three tickets in one year.

There were 66 recalcitrant recidivists this year, and 87 in 2008.

Offenders include Chelsea’s Bungalow 8, which has been slapped with multiple violations three years in a row, and Buddha Bar, a favorite of Eva Mendes and Lindsay Lohan.

About 1.7 percent of city-inspected locales were hit with smoking scofflaw fines this year, a drop from 6.4 percent in fiscal year 2008.

The Health Department collected $145,000 in smoking fines this year, down from $174,675 in 2008.