A ban on smoking in New York state parks and recreation areas is back on after the state’s Supreme Court, Appellate Division overturned a lower court’s ruling on Wednesday.

The five justices of the court voted unanimously in favor of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, saying that it acted within its authority and mission “to allow all patrons to enjoy the fresh air and natural beauty of its outdoor facilities.” While previous attempts at getting a ban passed in the state legislature had failed, that wasn’t grounds to indicate the OPRHP was wrong in enacting a ban on its own.

The suit was brought by a group called NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, who maintained that the ban “violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers because respondents lacked authority to regulate smoking in the absence of an enactment by the Legislature on that issue, and that the regulation was arbitrary and capricious due to its inconsistent treatment of parks located in New York City.”

In October 2013, State Supreme Court Justice George Ceresia ruled in favor of NYC C.L.A.S.H., saying the OPRHP had exceeded its authority in enacting the ban.

 

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.