OPINION: On World No Tobacco Day, protecting those who need it the most
Residents of New York City are accustomed to living in close proximity to their neighbors, sharing communal urban spaces and having a different definition of privacy than those who live in more spacious environs. What probably no city dweller accepts, however, is that those living next door or downstairs get to determine how healthy and safe we are in our own homes, a place that should offer respite from the sensory overload that is life in NYC. Yet, millions of New Yorkers living in buildings without smoke-free protections are forced to endure toxic secondhand smoke exposure in their own homes. This is because smoke very easily travels down hallways, through air vents and even through walls and floorboards, infiltrating neighboring apartments. This daily intrusion into private life is not just a mere annoyance, but rather a persistent threat to the health and well-being of those who are exposed, especially children, the elderly and those suffering from respiratory illnesses, including asthma.
Fortunately, there has been an upward trend in buildings opening as or being converted to smoke-free, providing greater access to clean air at home for more and more of us. The majority of these buildings, however, are market rate rentals and luxury condos and co-ops. This means that more often than not, smoke-free apartments are a luxury available to those who can afford them, completely out of reach for rent-burdened New Yorkers.
Residents of affordable and public housing should have the same opportunity to live in a healthy, safe and clean home free from tobacco smoke. Since these New Yorkers cannot afford to move, those who are subjected to a neighbor’s smoke are effectively trapped and forced to endure exposure to dangerous toxins on a daily basis.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.