Photo: By Hazal Aksoy.
In a controversial ruling, a smoking ban imposed on state parks, historic sites, and recreational areas was upheld in a state appeals court, ultimately reinstating the restrictions.
What does this mean for New York City’s smokers? Essentially, smokers are once again prohibited from smoking in any State owned park, historical site, or recreational area within the City and will face smoking restrictions when visiting such locations outside of the City.
“All aspects of the regulation are grounded in OPRHP’s stated purpose—to allow all patrons to enjoy the fresh air and natural beauty of its outdoor facilities—and are consistent with OPRHP’s ‘legislatively expressed goals’ to operate and maintain the parks and to provide for the health, safety and welfare of their patrons,” stated Justice Karen Peters who presided over the hearing.
The case, New York City Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harrassment (CLASH) v. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, & Historic Preservation, was decided upon unanimously by a panel of the Appellate Division, Third Department, according to the New York Law Journal.
“Last week’s decisive court decision upholds a common-sense policy to allow our visitors to experience the outdoors without being bothered by second-hand smoke,” said Randy Simons, Public Information Officer for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, & Historic Preservation (OPRHP). “This policy helps ensure that state parks remain healthy places for families to visit and enjoy.”
This decision reversed a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that determined that the smoking ban was invalid due to the fact that the restrictions were inconsistent, according to Reuters.
The court’s decision indicated that the varied stringency of the smoking ban is neither arbitrary nor capricious due to the fact that the restrictions prohibit smoking entirely from parks within the City and place limitations of smoking in parks outside of the City and in fact align with the OPRHP.
“Our argument against the ban in state parks is that it was not voted on by the state legislature but unilaterally imposed by the state’s Office of Parks, thus exceeding their authority,” stated CLASH founder Audrey Silk.
The smoking ban was originally instated on April 9, 2012 by the Cuomo administration and addressed smoking in outdoor areas such as parks, historic sites, playgrounds, and marinas, among others, according to the New York Law Journal.
In a city where smoking is as ubiquitous as subways, the reinstatement of the smoking ban is bound to spark controversy among smokers.
“First of all, we are very disappointed with the decision,” said Edward Palzik, an attorney for CLASH. “Basically, the parks agency had a lot to say and stated their reasons for this ban, and there were a lot of inconsistencies and questionable points…We are going to try [to] appeal and I know that the client is interested in doing that.”
Whether you support smokers’ rights or steer clear of the habit, residents will once again be able to stroll through Central Park sans smoke.
– by Caitlyn Bahrenburg
