(L. to r.); Bay Terrace Community Alliance (BTCA) members Matthew Silverstein and Sylvia Johnson, Assemblymember Ed Braunstein, BTCA President Warren Schreiber, Assemblymember Grace Meng, BTCA members Phil Konigsberg, Lorrane Berstin, and Mike Kublok at the press conference in Little Bay Park.Last February, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law a bill that bans smoking in all city parks, beaches and pedestrian plazas in an effort to promote a healthier city.
At an event on May 23, Assemblymembers Grace Meng and Ed Braunstein joined the Bay Terrace Community Alliance (BTCA) for a special press conference in Little Bay Park in Bayside to celebrate the start of the new Smoke Free Parks law.
Meng said “I am honored to join my colleague in government, Assemblyman Braunstein and members of the BTCA to celebrate such an important occasion. This new law not only promotes a healthier New York by limiting exposure to second-hand smoke but it also helps discourage our younger generation from smoking by sending the message that it is no longer acceptable to light up in family friendly places. Oftentimes, when I am in the park with my kids, smokers are literally next to us blowing smoke in our faces.”
The BTCA, a neighborhood coalition of concerned citizens committed to preserving our quality of life, was the first civic group to call for smoke free city parks back in the fall of 2007.