It's a sad sight. Addicted smokers standing outside a club on a freezing midnight in Manhattan. Maybe in rain or snow. Personally hate cigarette smoke, but ban smoking in bars? Did planners not get the bar experience? Of course restaurants are different. A couple or family goes in, eats, gets out.
But going to a bar is an extended experience, and with hundreds within walking distance in Manhattan, bar owners (and ultimately customers), should be free to decide whether a club is smoking or non-smoking. I suspect the market would have made the decision for the owner either way.