At its December 14th, 2022 meeting, the Greenburgh Town Board adopted a set of laws to address the proliferation of smoke shops in Greenburgh in close proximity to where children learn and play. This was the result of a six-month long advocacy campaign by the Edgemont Community Council.
New Local Law Chapter 453 entitled, “Tobacco Products and Smoking Paraphernalia, Prohibition of Sales, Display and Advertising of Specified Tobacco Products and Smoking Paraphernalia” in the Code of the Town of Greenburgh restricts the sale or offering of sale of any vaping products and smoking paraphernalia within 750 feet from public parks or any school which has students below the age of 21. Additionally, the law prohibits the advertising or display of any vaping products and smoking paraphernalia within 1,500 feet of any public park or school which has students below the age of 21.
Vaping products include e-cigarettes and synthetic nicotine products which are aimed at the youth market. Smoking paraphernalia is defined to include pipes, bongs and rolling paper. Importantly, ‘display’ is defined as visible from any exterior or interior location visible from any public road or sidewalk.
However, the term “specified tobacco products” does not include cigars and cigarettes, including flavored cigarettes, which are not covered by the Town’s new law and, unless sold to minors in violation of state law, would remain lawful for smoke shops to sell in close proximity to schools and public parks.
Penalties for violating this new law can result in fines of up to $2,500 for the initial day and $2,500 for each day the violation remains. Any person convicted of a second violation of this law within three years of a prior conviction under the law can face fines up to $5,000 for the initial day and $5,000 for each day the violation remains.
The advertising and display restrictions on vaping products and smoking paraphernalia go into effect immediately upon the Town filing the law with the New York Secretary of State. However, the prohibition against selling vaping products and smoking paraphernalia within 750 feet of a school or public park will not go into effect until 12 months later because the Town wanted to give the businesses affected what it thought was sufficient time to adjust to the new restrictions.
New Local Law Chapter 472 entitled “Weapons, Prohibition of Specified Sales, Display and Advertising of Weapons,” in the Code of the Town of Greenburgh will restrict the sale or offering to sell of any weapons within 750 feet of any school which has students below the age of 21 as well as public parks. Unlike the limited ban on selling vaping products and smoking paraphernalia, which won’t go into effect for another year, the limited ban on the sale of weapons will go into effect upon the Town filing the law with the New York Secretary of State.
Additionally, the law restricts the advertising or display of any weapons within 1,500 feet of any school which has students below the age of 21 as well as public parks.
Both of these new laws are enforceable by both the Town of Greenburgh Police Department and the Building Inspector and both laws also empower the Town Attorney to seek the closure, for good cause shown, of any business found to be operating in violation of these new laws.
The Town Board also adopted a new zoning ordinance at its December 14th, 2022 meeting that permits the sale of cannabis in unincorporated Greenburgh only along a small section of Route 9A in the northern part of the Town.
The new laws on vaping and weapons were written and advanced through a collaborative effort between the ECC Special Committee on Smoke Shops and the Greenburgh Town Board. Members of the ECC Special Committee on Smoke Shops included:
• Dr. Kim Abrams, Division Chief of the Pediatric Group of New Rochelle at Boston Children’s Health Physicians
• Lauren Lappen, Former PTA Co-President
• Pamela Montgomery, ECC 1st Vice President and PTSA President
• Dylan Pyne, ECC President
• Linda Richter, Vice President of Prevention Research and Analysis at Partnership to End Addition
The ECC thanks the members of the committee for their time, efforts, and service to the community. The ECC also thanks former ECC President Bob Bernstein for assisting in the drafting of the laws, providing the necessary legal research, and his guidance throughout the process.
The ECC also thanks Councilman Francis Sheehan, Interim Town Attorney Joe Danko and Commissioner of Community Development & Conservation Garrett Duquesne for working with the ECC to address this issue and for the collaborative approach that was taken in working to solve this problem.
While these new laws were the results of compromises and there are still concerns originally raised by the committee which remain unaddressed, these laws represent an important first step. The ECC hopes the Town will continue to work with us to address these important health and safety concerns for the children of our community. The ECC also hopes this experience can be used as a model for a collaborative partnership between the ECC and the Town Board into the future.