In 2006, the United States Surgeon General issued a report (PDF) that concluded exposure to secondhand smoke can cause or exacerbate heart disease, lung cancer, strokes, and respiratory ailments. In August 2017, Mayor de Blasio's smoking policy was signed into law. Local Law #147 requires that all multifamily buildings must create an official smoking policy by August 28, 2018 and make that policy known to all of its tenants.
Local Law 147 requires a written policy that states in what parts of a building smoking is permitted or prohibited, including all common outdoor areas, like rooftops, balconies and patios. The law requires that the policy must be given to all tenants and owners and publicly displayed in the building. The law does not require the smoking policy to include any specific restrictions, it is perfectly legal for a building to adopt a policy that smoking is completely allowed except where prohibited by law. The law simply requires the board to adopt a policy and to disclose that policy to all residents and potential residents. The City Council stated that they “encourage more buildings to adopt smoke-free policies” because “there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.”
According to the Smoke Free Air Act, Title 17, Chapter 5 of the NYC Administrative Code: "Smoking means inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or any form of lighted object or device which contains tobacco.” This has since been amended to specifically include electronic cigarettes
The penalties for violations are between $200 and $400 for a first violation, between $500 and $1,000 for a second violation in a period of twelve months, and between $1,000 and $2,000 for a third, and subsequent violations in a period of twelve months.
Residential Buildings Responding
In 2013, ahead of the curve, Related Companies enacted a non-smoking policy in all of its buildings nationwide. Jeff Brodsky, President of Related said, “In concert with Related’s commitment to sustainability and the wellness of its residents, we are proud to have proactively instituted a smoke-free commitment nationally. As a company, we are constantly looking for new ways to improve our residents’ quality-of-life. Since 2009, Related has initiated a smoke-free plan enhancing the indoor air quality in over 100 buildings representing approximately 20,000 residences. We are excited to be able to now make a firm commitment to include our entire residential portfolio in our smoke-free efforts.”Sugar Hill Capital Partners (SHCP), a real estate developer that focuses on purchasing and improving historical walk-up rental buildings in New York City, has also taken this opportunity completely ban smoking in all of their buildings. This trend is picking up steam across the city.
Marla Siegel, the Executive Director of Property Management for New Holland Residences, a subsidiary of SHCP which owns and operate 1,000+ units in Manhattan and Brooklyn, said “We saw this as an opportunity to eliminate smoking at our buildings as a response to what we hear from tenants. The tenant feedback is their desire to live in a smoke-free environment. So far, not only has all the response been really positive, tenants thanking us for taking this step, but tenants actually also let us know if any smoking is happening in the building.” Enacting this policy of total elimination has emboldened tenants to report violations.
Allison Selby, Director of Marketing and Communications for SHCP adds, “this is one piece of a wider trend of what our tenants want. We are creating energy efficiencies across fuel, water and electricity to save gallons of fuel, drips of water, and everything in between. And more generally, we are trying to promote a healthy lifestyle in our buildings.”
One SHCP tenant wrote in response to the notice of the new building anti-smoking policy, “This is beautiful, thank you!"
Contributing Writer
Michelle Sinclair Colman
Michelle writes children's books and also writes articles about architecture, design and real estate. Those two passions came together in Michelle's first children's book, "Urban Babies Wear Black." Michelle has a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in the Cities Program from the London School of Economics.
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