NYC Officials Seek Smoking Ban for Public Parks and Beaches
When a deal to ban smoking indoors was struck in 2002 between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council, some were furious.
But now, less than a decade later, officials are poised to go further, and even a number of smokers appear resigned, according to the City Room blog of the New York Times.
Under a proposal outlined on page 10 of a report called Take Care New York 2012 that outlines health policy goals for the next three years in the city, all cigarette and cigar smoking would also be banned in the city’s parks and on public beaches.
It isn’t clear whether the city council will vote on the proposed ban or whether it will simply be imposed administratively, the newspaper says.
Although such outdoor smoking bans aren’t unheard-of, it is unusual for a major city to implement them. The Bloomberg administration reportedly supports the proposed park-and-beach ban in New York City, and proponents say smoking is a health and safety risk that can injure others. Opponents point to other risky and unpleasant behavior that is tolerated, and question how much of an imposition on others smoking in public parks really creates.
