Bloomberg Gives His Thumbs-Up to the Smoking Ban for Parks and Beaches
As we mentioned yesterday, people are kind of upset with the cigarette butts all over the brave new Coney Island, even going so far as to talk of banning cigarettes in parks and at beaches. Today, the Daily News reports that Bloomberg is now seriously considering putting the kibosh on smoking along the city's beaches and in city parks. Why are we not surprised?
"We're talking about banning smoking on beaches and in parks and it's partially because ... the air wafts in your direction, but it is also because people take their cigarette butts and packages and just throw them away," Bloomberg says.
Since when are New Yorkers so delicate? We don't live on Wisteria Lane. We are crowded amongst each other like sardines; we hold onto subway poles that have been touched by millions; we eat un-kosher hot dogs from street vendors; we sit on stoops where dogs take shits; and yet we're suddenly worried about a wisp of secondhand smoke? Banning smoke in buildings and on playgrounds is one thing, but is banning it in parks and on the beach more stifling than the smoke itself?
Thoughts? Leave us your nuggets of wisdom in comments.
[LM]
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