The days of idly smoking a cigarette while awaiting a commuter train are coming to an end. Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a commuter rail platform smoking ban into law, and the MTA reminds us that this ban goes into effect on Sunday. Smoking will no longer be tolerated at any outdoor platform, ticketing and boarding areas of terminals and stations for LIRR and Metro-North. Stations in Connecticut are not subject to this ban.
MTA officials have been supportive of the ban. “The new law is a benefit to our customers, helping us in our efforts to provide a healthier and cleaner environment on our platforms and in our ticketing and boarding area,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said. “We appreciate the action taken by Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to protect New Yorkers and improve public health.”
Meanwhile, to spread the word, a variety of famous New Yorkers including Tommy John, Joe Namath, James Lipton, Mike Lupica and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps will record public address announcements for the commuter rail. Although the ban is effective Nov. 13, MTA police will issue warnings rather than summonses during a grace period while the educational campaign is under way. The authority could not say how long that grace period would last however.
5 comments
Finally! Who needs to breathe in all that smoke & deal with the associated health issues anyway.
Amazing that so many people have bought into this non-sense about second-hand smoke. But facts and logic will not be tolerated in the face of the Nanny State controlling every aspect of our lives.
Thought it was already banned.
Banned? Yes. Enforced is another matter. Since I routinely see idiots smoking stogies in public parks (banned), riders spitting, pissing and throwing garbage on subway tracks (banned) and drivers running red lights doing 40mph with impunity at major Manhattan intersections while cops cars are right on the corner, I’m thinking this “ban” will result in about 3 tickets a year for all smokers on M-N platforms. All rules, no enforcement = no rules, period.
I saw an NYPD officer smoking a cigarette in Central Park this weekend while I was there for the marathon. I imagined myself screaming at him, calling him a scumbag, and telling him how he not only shouldn’t be smoking on the job (I believe that is mandated somewhere?), but is also breaking the law and setting a terrible example for everyone around him. Of course I just continued walking and bit my tongue, but that image of him and the resulting anger stayed with me for the subway ride back to my apartment.