Should We Ban Smoking In Parks, Beaches?

By now, most have probably heard about Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ambitious new anti-smoking proposal. Hizzonah is pushing to extend the city’s smoking ban to 1,700 parks and 14 miles of public beaches, plus boardwalks, marinas and pedestrian plazas.

Down in here in our part of Brooklyn, where Bloomberg hasn’t fared well in elections anyway, the proposal reaches deep into the communities. It means you won’t be able to smoke on Sheepshead Bay’s piers, on Manhattan Beach’s sand, on Brighton’s boardwalk or in Marine Park’s fields – in addition to the existing restrictions on bars, restaurants and just about everyone else.

And the lines are blurry, too. It appears you can have a cigarette on Emmons Avenue, but can’t stray onto down the docks.

But maybe there’s a brighter side – a greater good story about ridding all of New York City’s air of at least one carcinogen. Or are we just another slip down our slippery slope? What do you think?