The Village of Williston Park Board of Trustees recently held a public hearing on a local law prohibiting on-site smoking in businesses within the village, which was tabled pending amendments to the law.
The law will be proposed for vote by the village board at their next meeting on Monday, June 20.
“There’s been some concern raised by the board and our residents on various smoke shops opening up throughout Long Island,” Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said. “We’re looking to take a proactive approach, and it’s not something we really want in the village at this time.”Trustee Teresa Thomann requested that the law include vapors and electronic cigarette liquids in both the definition of smoking and smoking related products. Attorney Chris Prior, filling in for village attThe Vorney James Bradley, recommended tabling the law pending those amendments.
“This has become a new industry with some question,” Thomann said. “This law is for smoking and smoking related products in a public space.”
Thomann remarked on recent news of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcing that cigars, pipes, hookah tobacco and electronic cigarettes will be under federal regulatory authority.
“This is becoming a public health issue, and I think this law is necessary for the village” Thomann said.
Other villages on Long Island have taken the issue on as well, including the Village of Lindenhurst earlier this year, which placed a ban on vape shops in the village’s business zones, as well as the Village of Great Neck that banned hookah bars. The Village of Williston Park currently has one vape shop location, Aces Up Vapor and Smoke Shop at 235 Hillside Ave. Shop owner and village resident Samick Sharma attended the hearing, where he expressed concern over the proposed law.
Sharma asked if the law will make vaping inside a business premises illegal, mentioning that customers in vape shops often try the product in the store before purchasing it.
“There are a lot of people quitting smoking because of electronic cigarettes,” Sharma said. “Every year, millions of Americans die from cancer caused by cigarettes. For the past nine years, I don’t know of anyone dying from electronic cigarettes.”
Sharma also cited a recent case in February of this year where a New York court ruled that under state law, vaping is not smoking, and therefore cannot fall under the same category and regulations as smoking.
Ehrbar said he was not aware of that specific ruling, however stood by the village’s proposed law, and explained the proposed local law as being an extension of the existing laws.
New York state currently bans smoking in most public areas, and Nassau County law states that for the most part, smoking inside in public, or at any workplace, is not allowed.
“A notable circumstance where smoking is restricted outdoors is in the outdoor seating area of restaurants, where smoking is permitted, but only in 25 percent of any such seating area,” Nassau County smoking regulations state. “The owners of a property or building are always free to establish rules regarding where smoking is allowed and prohibited—the current regulations do not specify any specific distances.”
Resident Bob Mitchell asked about applications for permitting smoking, such as the use of cigars. Prior said applications can be made before the zoning board for a use-variance, however remarked that they are difficult to obtain.
“That’s why you can find cigar bars in different locations,” Ehrbar said, who made reference to Hillside Cigar Shop, which is narrowly outside the village’s jurisdiction.
Resident Richard Dierlam spoke in favor of the law, saying that people who smoke outside, even from a distance, still have an effect on people.
Deputy mayor Kevin Rynne and trustees William Carr and Michael Uttaro all expressed their support for the local law.
“Having been a heavy duty Lucky Strike smoker at one time, I understand the difficulty of not smoking when you have that habit,” Ehrbar said. “I think it’s our obligation to try to protect the community the best we can.”
