Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Smoking World Reacts To Park, Beach, Boardwalk, Plaza Ban
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 16, 2010
Modified Sep 16, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 16, 2010
Modified Sep 16, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Embattled smokers reacted bitterly to the news of increased restrictions on their activity yesterday. In the wake of Mayor Bloomberg's announcement that, pending City Council approval, the city would ban smoking in parks, beaches, pedestrian plazas and boardwalks, smokers took to the streets to defiantly light up. Here are some of the most indignant reactions:
- "It's like a dictatorship," Scott Sottile, a bus operator smoking in Brooklyn's Columbus Park, tells the Wall Street Journal. "It's not like we're talking about smoking inside somewhere; this is outside. It's just amazing to me. I already stopped going to the bars and restaurants because half the pleasure for me was lighting up a cigarette when I finished my meal."
- "People have a right to smoke, and it's another product that you buy and should be able to use, so it's a little fascist by Bloomberg again," college student Karlyn Daigle tells the Post.
- "It's stupid," yoga teacher and ex-smoker Lula Trainor tells the Times. "It’s outside, it’s not like there’s no ventilation. You can always walk away from a smoker, but they should have the choice to smoke."
- "It's extreme," Benyamin Ratliff, a comedy-club promoter, tells the Journal. "This is something I'm addicted to—it's not something I can just stop doing that easily."
- "Tell them to build smokers' parks then!" David Aladashvili, a Juilliard piano student, tells the Daily News. "Artists smoke. Don't even dream about us quitting. We will smoke more."
However the Post may have found one the saddest smokers of all, a waiter at the Ballfields Cafe in Central Park. Patrick Hambrick usually goes behind the cafe on the two smoke breaks permitted during his shift, but once the new ban goes into effect, he'll have to switch to nicotine gum. "It would take me 10 minutes to walk to Central Park West and 65th Street to smoke," Hambrick tells the tabloid. "I'd need 20 minutes to smoke. I think it's kind of unconstitutional to ban smoking in a restaurant. I think it's even further across the line to ban it in public parks."
Then there are traitorous smokers like Bobby Fayad, whom we approached in the public plaza outside our DUMBO office. "They want to make this area no smoking?" Fayad asked. "I think its great. I think it's a great idea. You know why? 'Cause it’s a lot of people who smoke they throw the cigarette on the floor. So it’s not worth it. I mean, I walk here and I see that, and I always try to pick up as much as I can but it's always thrown everywhere around. At least if there was an ashtray around here, that would be great. No one has an ashtray to ash. They have the right and also the city has a right. That's all. I agree."
Tagged
boardwalk
cigarette
parks
pedestrian plaza
smoking ban
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans. We could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
News
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .