Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Sidewalk Smoking Punishable With 15 Days Jail in Great Neck
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 6, 2011
Modified Jan 6, 2011
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 Jan 6, 2011
Modified Jan 6, 2011
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
The push to ghettoize cigarette smokers has been taken to the next level in Great Neck (just two miles from the New York City border!) where the town elders have voted to ban smoking on sidewalks. It's only a matter of time before this latest attack on smokers—which will soon drive them out of NYC parks and beaches—happens here, inevitably culminating with a law requiring smokers to wear electronic collars that zap them if they light up outside designated subterranean nicotine bunkers. The smoking world needs a savior. Enter Audrey Silk, head of the NYC-based smoker's rights group Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, has anything to say about it.
Silk insists this isn't just about the right to share cancer with all our brothers and sisters, it's about basic freedoms that all Americans need to fight for. "If you love freedom, if you love what this country stands for, non-smokers should be out there smoking with the smokers in protest," Silk tells Newsday. But liberty has already been snuffed out in Great Neck Village, where, starting yesterday, the town prohibited "smoking tobacco and other substances on sidewalks along or within 125 feet of Middle Neck Road in front of commercial establishments, the Village Green Park and the Village Housing Authority."
Violators could face up to $15 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. The ban was reportedly inspired by two local merchants whose customers complained about cigarette smoke wafting inside when the doors opened. Sung Ho Cho, who owns Great Neck Cleaners, tells Newsday, "My customers complain. They hate the smoke smell. Now, I'm happy." He's healthy, too, because secondhand smoke is estimated to account for at least 46,000 deaths from heart disease and 3,400 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers nationwide each year. But hey—this is about freedom, and non-smokers are free to go inhale oxygen elsewhere, right?
Tagged
cancer
great neck
long island
smoking
smoking ban
smoking sidewalk 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
NJ Gov. Sherrill: Election is secure, noncitizens taken off voter rolls
The governor made the comments in the October edition of "Ask Governor Sherrill" on WNYC.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 27, 2026 at 7:42 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 27, 2026 at 11:14 p.m. ET
Ex-NYPD officer again faces murder charge in George Washington Bridge shooting
The charge against him was upgraded following an “extensive investigation,” the DA’s office said.
By
Samantha Max
News
Ex-NYPD officer again faces murder charge in George Washington Bridge shooting
The charge against him was upgraded following an “extensive investigation,” the DA’s office said.
By
Samantha Max
Former NYC buildings boss helped reopen mayor's favored restaurant despite health violations
By
David Brand
1 killed, 4 others injured at Elizabeth, NJ vigil shooting
By
Catalina Gonella
Police arrest man in Queens stabbings that ended with officer shooting woman
By
Ryan Kost
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 .