Smokers Kicked Out Of City Parks, Beaches

They don't jog. Or if they do, they don't get very far.

And judging from the crowd that usually congregates at a safe distance from the entrances of area nightspots like  or Mirrors on Grand, other urban stress-relievers like yoga or meditation aren't necessarily their cup of tea either.  

"I smoke. I'm a smoker," said David X., lighting up outside Chez Oscar on DeKalb Avenue. "This is what I do to relax."

David is part of an increasingly marginalized group of nicotine consumers, who starting Monday have been officially cast out of more than 1,700 parks and public beaches across the five boroughs. 

On the night the ban took effect, smokers around Fort Greene reacted with a mix of resignation and defiance. At the same time, non-smokers mostly welcomed the new law, passed earlier this year by the City Council with the goal of clearing public spaces of cancer-causing secondhand smoke. 

"Why would anyone want to walk their dog or play with their kids in someone else's ashtray?" said Michael Ramsey on Monday at Fort Greene Park.

Starting this week, smokers caught lighting up in city parks and beaches will be subject to a fine of $50, with the city Parks Department taking charge of enforcement. However, a spokesperson for the agency said they were mostly relying on the public to uphold the ban.

For Morten Friis of Fort Greene, the new law wasn't so much an invitation to quit as another way to hassle smokers who already pay some of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation.

A smoker for 20 years, Friis said he understood the health risks. But he said it wasn't the city's place to force smokers to quit. 

"I won't think much about it. I find it annoying that I can't smoke in a park, that's all," he said. "I would smoke just as much."

Still, city officials held on to the belief that New Yorkers would take increased anti-smoking measures as an opportunity to kick the habit.

"It is our hope that smokers, most of whom want to quit, will use this as an opportunity make a quit attempt and call 311 for help," said city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. "We hope that New Yorkers look forward to enjoying New York City’s parks this summer, free of smoke and cigarette butts."

Amy Clark contributed reporting to this story.