Articles and Links
Secondhand smoke in Apartments in
New York, United States
October 10, 2016
I will post articles and links as I find them (this can mean daily or frequently during the day).
Please check in for updates.

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Albany
Athens
Auburn
Binghampton
Bronx
Brooklyn
Buffalo

Canandaigua
Farmington
Flushing
Geneva
Glens Falls
Johnson City

Manhattan
New York City
Nyack-Piermont
Olean
Oneonta
Plattsburgh

Rochester
Saratoga Springs
Schenectady
Statewide
Syracuse
Utica

Albany

1/1/16

Albany, Schenectady and Troy Housing Authority units now smoke free News10.com The new policy says smokers will have to be 25 feet away from the property in order to have a cigarette.

8/2015 (Requires sign in ) [New York] Chris Churchill: Albany Housing Authority smoking ban fogs other health threats, including oil trains Albany (NY) Times-Union
8/11/15

Albany Housing Authority bans smoking in all units

TimesUnion.com Smokers will have to be 25 feet away from the property to have a cigarette, said Steve Longo, the Housing Authority's executive director.
811/15 Albany Housing Authority bans smoking in all units Times Union Mayor Kathy Sheehan applauded what she called "a victory for people who want to live in a smoke-free environment and have not been able to."

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Athens

4/27/15

FASNY conference informs Hudson Valley

The Daily Mail In the 1970s, many furniture fires were started by people falling asleep while smoking or dropping lit cigarettes on the upholstery.

Auburn

7/8/14 Smokers at Auburn public housing units to be banned from smoking inside homes he Citizen When September rolls around, indoor smoking at public housing units managed by the Auburn Housing Authority will not be permitted.
7/7/14 Auburn Housing Authority votes to ban smoking in tenants' apartments (video) Syracuse.com People who continue to smoke in their homes will be warned that they have violated their lease and could eventually be evicted from their apartment after a lengthy process, said Stephanie Hutchinson, the housing authority's executive director.
7/6/14 Auburn Housing Authority proposes indoor smoking ban at public housing units The Citizen A proposed ban on smoking inside of three Auburn affordable housing complexes comes with a message to the residing smoking tenants: If you don't like it, leave.

Binghampton

2/16/15 Advocates want to snuff out smoking in rental housing pressconnects.com “When I moved in it was a brand-new building — I was the eighth tenant,” she said. “I was sitting in my living room in April with the window open, and all I could smell was cigarette smoke.”
4/17/14 Binghampton Housing Authority Goes Smoke-Free Binghampton.com After three violations, eviction proceedings can begin against people who choose to ignore the rule.

Bronx

7/7/14 Word on the Street: Smoking ban in public housing News 12 News 12 asked residents what they thought about a smoking ban in public housing.

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Brooklyn

1/16/14 Brooklyn’s tallest rental highrise outlaws smoking in its apartments Pix11.com The tallest rental property in Brooklyn joined the city’s anti-smoking movement this week as the Brooklyneer on Lawrence street notified all tenants smoking will be prohibited even in the privacy of their own apartments.

Buffalo

3/18/16

Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority bans smoking in all buildings

BuffaloNews.com Beginning July 1, smoking will be banned in all Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority buildings, including individual apartments.
3/17/16

It’s official: BMHA is going smoke-free

wivb.com Dr. Mark Travers, an oncologist at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, put it bluntly, just moments before the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority was to vote on a smoking ban, “No coat of paint will cover the toxic legacy that second hand smoke leaves behind.”
1/21/16

Smoking to be banned in BMHA apartments BuffaloNews.com Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority residents, employees and visitors would have to go outside for a smoke under a proposal set to go into effect in July.

BMHA moves to ban smoking, including in all apartments wgrz.com

Smoking will be permitted 25 feet away from buildings.

Canandaigua

5/27/15

Letter: Smoking ban should apply to apartments

mpnnow.com The smoking ban, in existence since 2003 in New York, excludes the residents of federally subsidized apartments, where the elderly, families with children and individuals live.

Farmington

9/17/12 Farmington woman's personal battle to breathe easier MPNNow.com So when second-hand smoke began raising havoc in her life after she moved to Allmpnnow.comoway Manor, a senior-citizen apartment complex in Farmington, she spoke up.

Flushing

9/26/13 Apartment complex will be smoke-free Queens Chronicle With an eye to keeping tenants healthy, officials from the Macedonia Community Development Corp. announced last week that its under-construction affordable housing building in Flushing will be smoke-free when it opens next year.

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Geneva

2/15/16

Housing Authority smoking ban will be in place April 1

Finger Lake Times It affects residents of Courtyard Apartments, Elmcrest Apartments and scattered housing units.
8/6/15

Geneva Housing Authority board approves smoking ban fltimes.com Effective April 1, smoking will be prohibited in the 228 housing units managed by the Geneva Housing Authority.

Glens Falls

10/14/12 Village Green Apartments to put out smoke with no smoking policy PostStar.com Village Green Apartments, a federally subsidized housing complex in Glens Falls for low-income individuals and families, is going “smoke free.”

Johnson City

1/13/15

Fighting for clean air wbng.com Chatham's state-owned apartment building isn't smoke-free.

Manhattan

3/3/16

Manhattan Co-op Resident Wins $120K In Lawsuit Over Secondhand Smoke Infiltration

gothamist.com Habitat magazine reports that Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in his decision, "This Court...is only saying that if you want to avail yourself of the right to rent out residences, you assume the obligation to insure [sic] that your tenants are not forced to smell and breathe carcinogenic toxins."

11/30/14

Woman says her co-op is trying to boot her for smoking

New York Post A Manhattan smoker who’s taken expensive measures to keep the odor of her cigarettes from bothering her Gramercy neighbors says she is dying of cancer — and facing eviction for her habit.
6/4/14 Smoke-Free Apartment Buildings Becoming Hot Across City dna.info.com Fast forward to 2013 and 2014 and the numbers increased drastically. Roughly 1,488 rentals, 100 condos and 66 co-ops were listed in smoke-free buildings last year, StreetEasy found.
5/29/12 Condo’s butt is kicked NY Post “Even if tenants are the source of the odors,” the judge said, the building “did not establish whether the odors are a result of unreasonable conduct on the part of the tenants.”
4/11/12 How we are going smoke-free OP-ED The Wien House is a 100 unit apartment building for low income older adults. In June of this year, the Wien House will be going smoke-free.

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Nyack-Piermont

3/16/12 State Bill Would Ban Smoking in Nyack Public Housing Nyack-Piermont Patch A government ban on smoking in your own home may seem ironhanded, but what if your home is public housing?

Olean

1/11/16

Letter: Smoke wafts throughout complex Olean Times Herald I’m 84 years old and live in Cranberry Court. It’s a complex of 32 apartments, which are very nice, for seniors 62 and older and the handicapped. Our lease states No Smoking, but it is niot enforced.

Oneonta

12/1/15 Smoking policy has tower tenants fuming The Daily Star When individuals move into the building, they are advised that there are still smokers living there and that they may smell smoke, he said.

Plattsburgh

2/3/15

Tobacco control shouldn't be smoke and mirrors PressRepublican.com Isabella's organization, which comprises Reality Check and a community engagement program, is now working toward establishing additional tobacco-free outdoor areas, as well as more smoke-free housing.

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Rochester

7/7/13 Anne Peterson: Landlord allows outdoor smoking for tenants DemocratandChronicle.com The question was from a smoker about being denied an apartment.
5/22/13 Rochester Housing Authority to implement smoke free housing initiative WHEC.com If you're going to light up, you'll have to move out.

Saratoga Springs

4/26/16

Saratoga Springs Housing Authority Going Smoke-Free twcnews.com In addition to covering the authority's 339 housing units, it also includes smoke-free boundaries near exterior entrances and windows as well as playgrounds.

Schenectady

10/2/12 No-smoking rule near at MHA housing sites Times Union Hundreds of elderly and disabled tenants at three downtown city housing authority apartment buildings now have added incentive to kick their smoking habit.
10/1/12 Schenectady housing authority's senior units going smoke-free DailyGazette.com The Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority announced this morning that its senior housing developments will be going smoke-free on April 1.
6/1/12 Group home operator shuts smoking rooms to save lives TimesUnion.com Leaders at Mohawk Opportunities made the decision to ban smoking from their group homes after looking at the statistics.

Statewide

3/16/12 Condos, Co-Ops To Vote On Smoking Bans The Huffington Post In February, a New York District Court judge ruled that an Upper East Side woman could break her lease -- with two months' free rent -- because her landlord ignored her complaints about second-hand smoke in her apartment.

Syracuse

11/17/15

Smoking Will Be Banned In Syracuse Public Housing

WSKG News Starting Thursday, smoking will be banned in all of Syracuse’s public housing.
11/12/15

Syracuse's public housing apartments going smoke-free next week

Syracuse.com The prohibition comes at the same time the federal government is moving to ban smoking in all public housing nationwide
1/3/13 Smoking and tenants' rights: Your Stories WSYR TV She says smokers in neighboring units have caused her respiratory problems, not to mention, her belongings smell like smoke.
12/31/12 Should public housing ban smoking on site? The Post Standard The Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) issued a memorandum in July 2009 saying it ''strongly encourages'' public housing authorities to enact restrictions.

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Utica

3/22/15 OUR VIEW: With smoking, government vs. private space require compromise Utica Observer-Dispatch Locally, housing authorities in Dolgeville and Oneida have made some buildings smoke-free; the Utica Municipal Housing Authority has three smoke-free buildings and is in the process of implementing a no-smoking policy in its senior housing.
3/17/15 Secondhand smoke a smoldering issues, especially in housing complexes UticaOD.com Which takes precedence – a smoker’s right to smoke at home or the right of a neighbor in the same apartment building to breathe clean air?
3/17/15 Secondhand smoke a smoldering issue, especially in housing complexes Herkimer Telegram The housing authorities in Dolgeville, Herkimer and Oneida have made some of their buildings smoke-free. And the Utica Municipal Housing Authority has three smoke-free buildings and is in the process of implementing a no-smoking policy in its senior housing. Once that policy is in place and working well, the authority will discuss a smoking ban in its other buildings with residents, said interim Executive Director Robert Calli.
11/17/14 Smoking could be snuffed out in MHA housing UticaOD.com And the authority is considering banning indoor smoking in its three buildings for seniors and the disabled, said Executive Director Robert Calli.

"But now God has shown us a different way to heaven - not by "being good enough" and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us - declare us "not guilty" - if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins." Romans 3:21-24 Living Bible