scooterbug44
SoWal Expert
After a bitter debate over individual liberties and the role of government, the City Council on Wednesday handily approved a bill to ban smoking in 1,700 city parks and along 14 miles of city beaches.
?This summer, New Yorkers who go to our parks and beaches for some fresh air and fun will be able to breathe even cleaner air and sit on a beach not littered with cigarette butts,? Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. Enforcement of the law will fall to the Department of Parks and Recreation, which can impose $50 fines.
City health officials say that people seated within three feet of a smoker are exposed to roughly the same levels of secondhand smoke, regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors. The ban is also intended to help reduce trash in public places.
In addition to applying to parks and beaches, the ban approved on Wednesday would extend to pedestrian malls and plazas like those in and around Times Square. One group will be exempted from the restrictions: actors lighting up a cigarette in a park or on a beach for the purposes of a theatrical production.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/nyregion/03smoking.html?_r=3
Woo-hoo! More fresh air and less litter!
IMO, cigarette smoke is rarely an issue on Sowal beaches (usually just notice cigar stench and get annoyed with people lighting up in crowds at concerts), but the litter is sure an issue.
Just 'cuz it's sand doesn't mean it's an ashtray! :roll:
?This summer, New Yorkers who go to our parks and beaches for some fresh air and fun will be able to breathe even cleaner air and sit on a beach not littered with cigarette butts,? Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. Enforcement of the law will fall to the Department of Parks and Recreation, which can impose $50 fines.
City health officials say that people seated within three feet of a smoker are exposed to roughly the same levels of secondhand smoke, regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors. The ban is also intended to help reduce trash in public places.
In addition to applying to parks and beaches, the ban approved on Wednesday would extend to pedestrian malls and plazas like those in and around Times Square. One group will be exempted from the restrictions: actors lighting up a cigarette in a park or on a beach for the purposes of a theatrical production.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/nyregion/03smoking.html?_r=3
Woo-hoo! More fresh air and less litter!
IMO, cigarette smoke is rarely an issue on Sowal beaches (usually just notice cigar stench and get annoyed with people lighting up in crowds at concerts), but the litter is sure an issue.
Just 'cuz it's sand doesn't mean it's an ashtray! :roll: