NEW YORK CITY: M2 Club To Reopen

After closing them in March for smoking ban violations, NYC's Health Department will allow M2 Ultra Lounge to reopen.

The Chelsea hotspot must pay $7,500 in fines and submit a plan to the city detailing how it will stop patrons from lighting up. It was one of several clubs busted in a Health Department undercover sting in January. Undercover inspectors said they found dozens of smokers puffing away in plain sight and bathroom attendants selling loose cigarettes for $2 a pop. "Our main goal was to get M2 to take their obligations under the law seriously, and we achieved that," Health Department spokeswoman Erin Brady said yesterday. "After the case was brought, M2's enforcement of indoor smoking drastically changed. That was the real victory for us."

M2 is one of the handful of remaining NYC dance clubs of a decent size and is the largest to regularly host gay dance parties. Last month's gay pride edition of the popular Alegria party was relocated to Times Square's Nokia Theater due to M2's closure.