Some Landlords Ban Smoking in Apartment Buildings

Related Companies, a national developer that owns 17 buildings in New York City, is banning smoking in some of its properties, saying the aim is to protect tenants from exposure to secondhand smoke, the New York Times reported Nov. 16.

Smokers who currently live in Related Companies buildings will not be evicted; however, new tenants in the developer’s six buildings near Battery Park City and Chelsea must agree not to light up in their apartments, said company president Jeff Brodsky.

Another local developer, Kenbar Management, also plans to ban smoking in all of the units and terraces in its new building opening in East Harlem in December. Smoking will also be banned on the sidewalks surrounding the building.

The move to ban smoking in residential buildings is gaining momentum across the country. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has recommended that public-housing agencies do so, and 50 public housing agencies have already banned smoking, said Betsy Feigin Befus, an attorney with the landlord trade group National Multi Housing Council.

Thomas A. Farley, M.D., New York City’s health commissioner, has said the city does not plan to encourage public-housing developments to ban smoking, however.

Critics who oppose the smoking ban include Bryan Marx, 53, who has lived in a Related Companies building since 1999.  “I think it’s absolutely absurd,” he said.  “How about a little tolerance?”

Dale Smith, 41, who has lived in a Related Companies building for almost three years, said, “A policy that is in place because something has proven to be hazardous in eating establishments should be effective in the home.”