A nonprofit formed by the city’s health department is pushing several residential buildings to ban smoking. Partnership for a Healthier New York City, which coordinates the city’s federally-funded smoke-free campaign, has had multiple conversations with landlords and tenants to educate them about the hazards of tobacco exposure, its director Earl Brown said.
“The goal of the work is to educate the general public so that people can make their own decisions,” Brown told the New York Post.
So far, the partnership has convinced five residential buildings, which hold a total of 513 apartments, to ban smoking. An additional seven buildings with 413 apartments in total are considering going smoke-free, according to Brown. A total of 52 buildings have been approached so far, but Brown wouldn’t specify their addresses.
City law allows landlords to ban smoking in their buildings – all they have to do is change the language on the lease once the lease term expires. Once the lease is up for renewal, smokers can decide to adhere to the new terms, or leave the building.
In June, the Related Companies announced that it had banned smoking in all its rental buildings across its nationwide portfolio. [NYP] – Hiten Samtani