ECC Open Letter in Response To Most Recent Draft of Town Code 454

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Dear Members of the Town Board,

Last night at the Edgemont Community Council meeting the Board of Directors voted unanimously to oppose the most recent draft of Chapter 454 entitled, “Tobacco product and electronic cigarette advertisements and smoking paraphernalia display” as shared with me by Interim Town Attorney Joe Danko on September 6th. Chapter 454 as revised falls woefully short of addressing the concerns laid out by the Edgemont Community Council in our letter dated August 9th. 

At the Town Board meeting on August 10th, the ECC requested the Town Board to take its time to get this law right – even if it means delaying the passage of this law into the new school year. We stand committed to that request, and ask again the Town Board to again adjourn the public hearing scheduled for September 14th, withdraw the current draft and schedule a new public hearing as soon as possible after the proposed Chapter 454 has been redrafted to address the issues and concerns outlined in our last letter, and summarized again below. We are eager to work in partnership with the Town Board and Interim Town Attorney to create the strongest law or set of laws possible which protects the children in our community. 

Below is a summary of the concerns still not addressed in the most recent draft of Chapter 454. 

  1. While the intention of proposed Town Code §454-4, based on its title, “Prohibited advertising and display,” is to regulate both the advertising and physical display of tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia, the language is unclear and could be read to regulate only “nicotine advertisements” and not regulate the physical display of tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia. Thus, the statute still reads in pertinent part as follows: “no person . . . may place, caused to be placed, maintain or cause to be maintained, smoking paraphernalia or tobacco product, electronic cigarette, or vapor product intended or reasonably expected to be used with or for the consumption of nicotine advertisements in a store front or exterior window or any door. . . .” (emphasis added). The phrase “reasonably expected to be used with or for the consumption of nicotine advertisements” does not appear to make any sense and worse, could be read as limiting the scope of what’s prohibited to “nicotine advertisements” rather than the physical display of tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia.  We asked last month that this crucial provision be corrected, and without any explanation, no change was made. 
  2. This law would only regulate store fronts, exterior windows, and any door which is used for entry. If the intent of this law is to “mitigate the marketing and sale to youth by regulating the public display of tobacco products and electronic cigarette advertisements and smoking paraphernalia”, it would be more effective to regulate the display of these items from being visible from the sidewalk or street. This comprehensive scope is needed because through the use of large plate glass windows through which the interior display of tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia can easily be seen from the street, the regulation can very easily be circumvented.  If this law is adopted as is, children walking our streets will still easily be able to see products and paraphernalia inside businesses if only store fronts, exterior windows, and entry doors are regulated.
  3. This law would only regulate distance from schools, not public parks. Children, which this law is intended to protect, spend considerable time in public parks. Other locations where children spend considerable time include playgrounds, day-care centers, and houses of worship. These locations should be included as well for the maximum protection of our community’s children.
  4. This law would only regulate the public display of tobacco products and electronic cigarette advertisements and smoking paraphernalia, not the sale of the products themselves. The ECC stands firm in its request for the Town to restrict the sale of tobacco products, marijuana, and weapons within an agreed upon and reasonable distance from schools, public parks, playgrounds, day-care centers and houses of worship. To keep the children in our community as safe as possible, the sale of these products should be restricted – not just their marketing and display.
  5. This law would only be enforceable by the Building Department, not the Police Department. This makes no sense to us. The Building Department is generally responsible for enforcing violations of the Town’s zoning code. Chapter 454 is not part of the Town’s zoning code and is not intended as a zoning code amendment. To the contrary, it is being enacted as part of the Town’s police power to protect the health, safety and welfare of the Town’s children.  The proper enforcement agency is therefore the Town’s Police Department, not the Building Department.  Furthermore, while the Building Department is only open during normal business hours, the Police Department operates 24/7/365 and is well positioned to take action on violations of this law.
  6. Enforcement fails to go beyond fines. Proprietors that are repeat offenders of this law should be at risk of having their establishment shut down. Therefore, enforcement should also extend to the Town Attorney’s office to take such steps as it believes may be necessary to enforce Chapter 454, including obtaining injunctive relief from the courts; the statute should also make clear that the Greenburgh Town Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce any such actions the Town Attorney’s office may take.  

We also note that the proposed Town Code 454 does not address all the issues at the center of the ECC’s concerns to protect the children of our community, specifically regulating the sale, display, and advertising of marijuana/paraphernalia and guns/knives/weapons. The adoption of Chapter 454, even if revised, is not a substitute for additional laws that address these additional issues. To date no communication has been received by the ECC on these topics and no draft legislation or a timeline for draft legislation has been shared or discussed to address these concerns. 

We are disappointed that the most recent draft of Chapter 454 does not address all the issues at the center of the ECC’s concerns and that no explanation was made as to why many of the concerns were ignored. Yet, we stand committed to working constructively together. We continue to request that drafts of the revision be shared with the ECC, so that we do not see the draft only after a public hearing has been scheduled, further delaying action on this matter.

Thank you for your consideration,

Dylan F. Pyne

President, The Edgemont Community Council

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