No Smoking For NYC's Parks & Beaches

Today NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce a complete ban on smoking in city parks and on city beaches.

After months of considering the issue, Mayor Bloomberg will today announce that the city will institute a smoking ban in parks and on beaches, sources said. The new ban requires City Council approval, which seems assured since the mayor will be joined at the announcement by Council Speaker Christine Quinn. In the past, Bloomberg expressed concerns about the logistics of such a ban, mostly because of the size of the enforcement area. But Health Commissioner Tom Farley has been pushing for the ban for months. "[Bloomberg] was undecided, and now he's made the decision to go ahead," said a source.

Bloomberg banned smoking in bars early in his first term.