A city-wide ban on smoking in parks, including the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, goes into effect Monday, May 23.
NBC New York: In two weeks, the parking lot — whether at Yankee Stadium or outside one of the city’s numerous parks — becomes one of the last legal escapes for cigarette smokers. Central Park will be off limits. So will the Brooklyn Heights promenade, Coney Island boardwalk and the pedestrian plaza outside Macy’s.
According to the NBC report, enforcement of the ban will be left up to citizens, “who will ask people to follow the law and stop smoking.” Violators may be fined $50, but will a citizen’s arrest be necessary?
Oh the irony considering that folks on the promenade are subject to such inescapable high levels of exhaust from cars and trucks above two decks, six lanes, on one of the busiest expressways in the country.
Or how about the lack of studies on the personal health effects on patrons of both parks along both edges of Manhattan. Which are adjacent to the FDR/Harlem River combo or the West Side Hwy respectively.
Do people realize how being in such close proximity to very high levels of pollution/exhaust can be so detrimental to their health.
Far far worse than fleeting clouds of smoke that smokers release into the air.
@Ari: You might as well point out the irony of radios not being allowed on the Promenade. Sure, plenty of noise comes from the expressway below, but it’s experienced mostly as an ignorable, ambient blend, even though it may be doing its part to raise our blood pressure.
The smoking is just sparse enough to be really annoying.
Good point, Ari.
However, I do think that smoking around other people is inconsiderate. I strongly dislike walking behind people who are smoking, both because of that foul-smelling cloud that follows them around, or because they ash and then it blows onto me somehow. Then, there’s the litter from it. I have no idea how long it takes a cigarette butt to biodegrade, but it doesn’t really matter–it’s still litter, and it’s disgusting.
You’re absolutely right about the irony of sitting atop a major highway with tons of auto-related pollution. However, I don’t think that the sole concern with these smoking bans is personal health. I think quality of life (I can’t tell you how much it bugs me when I’m sitting on a bench, minding my business, and some disgusting person sits downwind from me on the other side of my bench, blowing smoke at me) is, and should be, considered.
…don’t forget the litter.
I have never been bothered by anyone smoking on the Promenade as I am usually too busy trying to keep out of the way of the bicycles. If they don’t enforce a ban on bikes on the Promenade can anyone really believe that they will enforce a ban on smokers.
no more cigars at sunset…. :-(
Right on Linda. Just the other day I was on the promenade and a child and an adult (whom I assumed was his father) were practicing skate board tricks on the ‘nade. Sure enough the board got away from the kid who was trying to replicate the move his dufus “guardian” was doing and the board shot across the promenade and hit an old man from behind almost knocking him over. I’ve seen the same close calls with bike riders (who evidently still don’t have enough lanes to cycle in).
What is wrong with these so called adults?
Good point, Ari.
However, I do think that smoking around other people is inconsiderate. I strongly dislike walking behind people who are smoking, both because of that foul-smelling cloud that follows them around, or because they ash and then it blows onto me somehow. Then, there’s the litter from it. I have no idea how long it takes a cigarette to biodegrade, but it doesn’t really matter–it’s still litter, and it’s disgusting.
You’re absolutely right about the irony of sitting atop a major highway with tons of auto-related pollution. However, I don’t think that the sole concern with these smoking bans is personal health. I think quality of life (I can’t tell you how much it bugs me when I’m sitting on a bench, minding my business, and a smoker sits downwind from me on the other side of my bench, blowing smoke at me) is, and should be, considered.
The enforcement plan doesn’t seem like it’ll work too well, though. I’ve tried the same with bike riders–they don’t care.
@JM
“What is wrong with these so-called adults?” you ask. They’re American parents of American children – they can’t help themselves.
Where o where can we
Cigar smokers be?
Sometimes laws for my own good
Suck.
Big Dave: Not for your own good, for mine!
I know people who smoke 420 on the Promenade because they do not want the halls of the Brownstone smelling like the stuff do not want the neighbors to know that they are smoking.
Many an evening late at night I know a guy to step out walk up the ramp at Remsen Street light up and ponder.
Smokers are treated like second class citizens.
Just like the bikes and skateboards I suspect that the law will not be enforced.
I think Squibb is open on Saturdays, or will be soon, for use as a skateboard park. Maybe that can help with skateboarders. As for smoking — I usually (theoretically) don’t mind the odd outdoor smoker. BUT if they end up smoking right next to me I do mind, since I will leave the promenade wearing Eau de Ashtray.
I use to walk the promenade in the evenings to get my second hand smoke pot high… Too bad, now I have to buy the stuff myself instead of getting it for free in an inhale-by.
I tend to find the exhaust fumes from the BQE pretty minimal compared to the cloud of smoke the follows around a cigarette addict.
This is a minority view but I predict that the smoking ban in parks will be largely observed over time. There’s a strong element of peer pressure involved in this: the vast majority of people hate having to breathe second-hand smoke and it will become increasingly less acceptable as it catches on.
I’m smoking my stogies there anyway. Looking forward to telling complainers to mind there own business. And, even if park police catch me, a $50 fine isnt enough to deter me from doing it again.
Full disclosure, I’m a smoker (cigarettes, not cigars). I abide by the laws in place and restrict my habit to the dwindling spaces provided for us nic-addicts.I am cognizant of and supportive of the research regarding the deletorious effects of second-hand smoke. I still think this law is a ass when it comes to the Promenade.
1. The pollution from the BQE is much more harmful, even if you can’t smell it
2. The wind off of the river, even on a calm day, dissipates ambient smoke almost instantly.
3. The Promenade is not a stage set from Sartre’s “Huis Clos” If you see somebody smoking in your vicinity, either move away or tell them to go to hell.
When I was a kid in the 80s, there were far more smokers walking on the Promenade than now. I don’t believe the law is necessary for the Promenade, but I might change my mind if I ever encounter a group of chain-smoking European or Chinese tourists next to me.
Well, at least I dont have to walk through zones of pot smoke
mostly after 9 PM. But teddy is correct there has been a visable
reduction in smoking and the pot is greatly less that the 70′s
or 80″s. But I dont think anyone wants “other substances” to
be part of the Promenade.
I’m wondering what will happen to the guy who practically lives on a bench in the Fruit Street Sitting Area, puffing away on a fat cigar, cell phone in hand, newspaper spread out next to him, apparently conducting business there, rain or shine. I happily reminded him of the impending law, a couple of weeks ago. He told me to go somewhere very warm.
The most trash generated in NYC, by number, not by weight? Cigarette butts. Check out Remsen Street opposite the college.
Whatever, I expect to encounter you on the Promenade. You’ll know me by my bright orange super soaker.
Of course, this is all moot if the world ends on the 21st.
@Whatever: are you really intent on being that immature, rude, and inconsiderate? Why? What’s the point in that? If someone politely asks you to abide by a law, maybe you should just respect the fact that YOU’RE BREAKING A LAW, and go somewhere else. We’re allowed to not appreciate when someone breaks a law, and we were always allowed to not appreciate when someone has no respect for others–so, just be nice, okay? Thanks.
Cigarette filters don’t degrade and are one of the biggest pollutants in the world. It would be nice if smokers at least broke off the filter and put it in a trash bin. (But, then I might as well ask for the moon.)
My experiences with smokers on the promanade are usually negative. I find a seat, a smoker comes and sits next to me up wind even though there are many other empty places for them to sit. The smoker can tell I am disturbed as I unfortunately start coughing (smoke does that to me) and they don’t care. I move. Not very nice of the smoker. I wouldn’t go sit next to them and fart.
Bicyclists, skateboarders, Euro & Chinese tourists … but no one mentioned the Stroller Nazis that take over the place in the afternoon, clogging up the walkway with other people’s kids (they’re mostly nannies) like human cholesterol. We should have a law banning them, but at least if they’re on the promenade they’re not jamming up the sidewalks of Henry Street!
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar
But oftentimes a knee jerk is a reaction
When the wind blows the cigar cradle will rock
Since when are the Fruit Street benches on The Promenade?
@Big Dave: I’m pretty sure that the Fruit Street Sitting Area is maintained by the Parks Department and although technically not part of the Promenade would still be subject to the new law.
I’m an ex-smoker who has’nt turned militantly against smokers..
How about a designated smoking area on the promenade?(Preferably downwind?)..Can’t we be more tolerant?
They would need to be ‘considerate’ smokers; take their spent butts and ash with them…….?
Yea I know…keep dreaming
Since when are the fruit street(s) called Fruit Street(s)?
@Whatever or anyone else that feels their sad habit is above the law – I’ll be the one that will sit right next to you with 50 of the worst smelling burning incense sticks. Hope you enjoy.
Okay, so does this mean that every entryway to the Promenade is going to be littered with butts? By solving one problem, you may create another. As a smoker, even I can’t defend the likes of Whatever or those who are oblivious to their surroundings. However, as a nicotine addict, I also know that legislation like this is not going to make me change my habits, as harmful to me as they may be. If anything, it will make folks like Whatever dig in their heels that much more.
Should we organize a smoke-in demonstration?
And to all the haters, my cigars are nearly $30 each, so a $50 dollar fine is a joke. If I rolled a fifty dollar bill up and it tasted as good as my cigars I would smoke it! It’s a joke fine for a law.
Good luck getting this enforced.
It will be enforced. Bans like this have gone into effect around the world and they’ve been successful enough that New York is finally getting on board. Also, laws like this aren’t enacted without a substantial body of research to support their efficacy.
Yes, there will be a few people like @whatever who feel it’s their right to be insensitive and break the law but the majority will fall in line and take their gross habit somewhere else.
@bornhere: the fruit street(s) aren’t being called Fruit Street(s). But there is a NYC Parks sign across from 92 Columbia Heights that brands those benches the Fruit Street Sitting Area.
It is not a $50 fine that affects my smoking; it’s the front-of-face hand waving, eye rolling, teeth sucking, and stunningly dramatic, paroxysmal coughing of passersby, which, by the way, I never heard 25 years ago. Odd how millions of people were so much better at coping with some things in days of yore. But I find the random angst of others to be a pretty effective deterrent. I’m not a fighter — I’m a smoker.
And nabe is right about what the entrances to the Promenade may look like before long. Maybe the City will install really, really gigantic ashtrays….
@bornhere: Interesting point re: days of yore. Unfortunately, people were suffering back then, too. One of my father’s friends and colleagues was a cigar smoker. First the friend had a cough, then my father had a cough. (My father was not a smoker, but eventually died of lung cancer. Having been born in 1926, I’m sure he breathed a lot of other things, chimney smoke and automobile exhaust included.)
I’m not a smoker, didn’t grow up in a smoking household. Used to be able to tolerate smoke but have found post 9/11 and the six-month-long hacking cough I picked up that I have zero tolerance for it. I don’t particularly care whether people smoke in private but find the gauntlet of smokers outside buildings infuriating (I’m sure it’s infuriating to be segregated to smoking outside).
That said, fining someone for smoking on the promenade is idiotic, the CO levels there are far worse than any ill effects of second hand smoke.
For 20 years I used to occasionally have a cigarette and the various smells never bothered me. In fact, I would almost say that I enjoyed being around people who smoked. Thankfully, I came to the conclusion that smoking shouldn’t be a part of my life. Now I find that being around cigarette smoke (even indirectly) is particularly objectionable.
My response to cigarettes must be something more than a simple psychological explanation created by the anti-smoking media campaigns. I think that the chemicals with which tobacco is treated with have been altered, making cigarettes more unpleasant.
Bornhere, you make me laugh with that description of what I call the “bubble people”.
Yes, years ago, folks were more accustomed to living in a world of smokers because there were so many more of them. I wish that the anti-smoking education and propaganda that exists today was available back when I first lit up. Alas, us die-hards are just that, dying hard.
The difference between the CO levels or whatever else coming off the BQE and secondhand smoke is that you can’t do much about the former (not to mention that it just kind of blends in with the general hum of the area and isn’t that annoying or intrusive), while the latter has everything do with people just being inconsiderate and classless.
I really am not understanding what is so offensive about this law. I actually think it’s a little sad that a law is necessary to curb inconsiderateness.
I lived in London for a year during college, and went to college in Philadelphia, before any of these no-smoking-in-public-places laws were passed. Sometimes I would leave a restaurant or bar because the smoke was bad enough to make my eyes tear, and then went home with my hair and my clothing absolutely reeking of cigarette smoke. If people want to be disgusting, great. But I and my belongings don’t need to smell like it.
@bornhere & nabeguy: you guys sound so resigned to the control of nicotine. Even if you keep failing in your efforts to quit, it’s worth the effort. You might end up smoking less and, studies show that even for people who have been smoking for a long time, there is an almost immediate health benefit.
I know, it is easier said than done. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t impossible. Just keep trying; one day it will stick.
Wrennie is kind of missing the point. We are talking about smoking in a public place that generally has prevailing winds of at least a few knots. I have always been cognizant of others and try to be “downwind” if I am stationary; that is simply good manners. By the way, what about pipe smoking? I suppose that has gone the way of the am/fm radio, but usually that smell is not found objectionable… Ah well…
Big Dave, I’m reacting more to people like Whatever who seem to be defiant of the rule for the sake of being annoying and rude. I applaud your cognizance of others, and appreciate it. Pipe smoking is fine with me so long as you wear a monocle.
Cheerio and all that rot!!!
Maybe if we put out some spittoons…
Children screaming really bothers me. I go there to smoke and relax. Can we legislate against children so I am not discomforted? Remnants of dog crap stinks and is repulsive. Let’s outlaw pets as well.
Joggers can be dangerous and disruptive. Occasionally one will get in my way or even bump into me on the way to have a smoke. One even knocked me over once. We should make parks a safe place and outlaw jogging too.
Camera flashes can be damaging to the eyes. They really bother me and irritate my eyes. Too many tourists taking pictures. They also block the walking paths. We should outlaw flash photography in the parks, particularly the promenade.
I don’t like all of the food wrappers on the promenade. And, even when it makes it to the trash can, I see rats running into the cans. The food stinks and dirtys the promenade. We should outlaw eating and drinking in the parks. It would save money on sanitation costs as well.
^ Some really good ideas up there.
I may take up chewing tobacco because I can’t smoke my cigars. Now my occasional habit may become a daily habit. That won’t help me at all. I apologize in advance as you will no longer smell my smoke but you will be walking in my lawful loogies of dirty chew spit. If you have a dog, your dog will love licking it off it paws from walking in it. Just wash your shoes when you get back and don’t let your kids touch the wheels of their scooters. Huuuuuuuuuchh fhuuuu(lugy)
@Whatever: I hate to break this to you, but spitting in public has been against the NYC Health Code for as long as I can remember. On the bright side, maybe it carries a smaller fine than smoking will.
If you expect to rate, you should not expectorate.
TK I agree that the newer cigarette brands smell worse and are more irritating to the throat than the old “just tobacco” cigarettes. Lucky Strikes Marlboros et al have much less of a chemical smell. I grew up with a Luckies smoker and spent much of my early years wondering just what “LSMFT” stood for. My father got them in WW2 where they gave them out like candy and came home a smoker. The smoke was still stinky but less offensive. Still I am a lifelong non smoker and am glad to encounter less outdoor smoke especially of the Benson + Hedges variety. By the way my shift key is out of whack. Please pardon the poor punctuation – aliteration (sp?) unintended.
LSMFT: Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco.
Another WW2 lie: “Lucky Strike Green has Gone to War”. The supposed reason they stopped making them: they needed the copper used in the packaging. All a lie, to make it seem patriotic to buy the brand.
Whatever, you smoke $30 cigars, and the fine is only $50. But you could get a dozen fines per day, every day.
WTFhatever, you’re right. There are plenty of annoying things that we are subjected to on a daily basis. However, what make s you think that your ability to earn large sums of money earns you the right to be more annoying than most?
Just changed my bench for the 3rd time in two days on the prom due to my coughing and subsequently noticing that someone near me was smoking. I am normally sensitive to cig smoke and even more so since I am recovering from a sore throat. I came to the pro
to relax and found that cozy comfortable feeling disrupted by the smoke. I went online to see if the ban extended to the prom and found this thread. Just wanted to add a personal example of how prom smoking does interfere with others (and also vent). Maybe next time I will politely let the person know I am distressed by the smoke (if they look fairly reasonable) and see how they react. Or if i see an officer passing by I can loudly ask if smoking is illegal on the prom, although that’s a rare sight.
30yrResident, the tourists don’t know about the new restrictions. Just ask them nicely, “Would you please not smoke here?”
That’s a thought, David on Middagh; it is possible that some of the smokers are tourists. I’m positive that, at least, one couple wasn’t, although they may not have been Heights residents. However, it is good to keep in mind that some people may just need to be informed. I’ll blog from the hospital, after informing the next person. Just joking. Sort of.