Smoking Now Banned In NYC Public Housing

NEW YORK, NY — New York City public housing residents are now barred from smoking in and around their homes under a new policy accompanied by efforts to help tenants kick the habit. The New York City Housing Authority's policy, effective Monday, bans smoking inside and within 25 feet of all residential and administrative buildings, as required by a federal mandate.

NYCHA engaged more than 21,000 residents as it developed the policy, which aims to improve health rather than shame smokers, officials said.

"This policy has been designed to target the smoke, not the smokers, and to provide support and connections to resources that can help residents quit," said Andrea Mata, NYCHA's director of health initiatives.

In late 2016, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development directed more than 3,100 public housing agencies across the nation to develop their own "smoke-free" policies. The move was meant to improve tenants' health and save housing authorities money from repairs and renovations that smoking sometimes makes necessary.

The housing authority has posted signs at its developments reminding tenants of the rules and worked with the city's Department of Health to promote programs that help New Yorkers quit, as well as the city's "HelpMeQuit" app, officials said.

NYCHA has also provided property managers with literature about smoking cessation programs that they can give to tenants, said Marvin Jean-Jacques, a project manager for NYCHA Health Initiatives.

Tenants got a lease addendum this spring reflecting the policy, which allows both residents and staff to report violations, NYCHA said.

The first strike will get residents called to their property manager's office for an "informal conference" about the policy, a step that's not included in the process for addressing other lease violations, Mata said. A subsequent violation will trigger a formal process that could eventually lead to court action, she said.

Public health experts and advocates hope the shift will help reduce asthma, blood pressure, strokes and other health problems caused by smoking and secondhand smoke. Seniors and children — who comprise nearly half of NYCHA residents — are often impacted most by smoking, the housing authority says.

"There's a lot of asthma in these communities. People describe very clearly how smoke is coming under their door, into their windows and affecting their kids' health," Dr. Donna Shelley, a professor at the New York University School of Medicine, said at a Monday panel discussion about the policy.

While most NYCHA tenants are eager for smoke to clear from their homes, engaging smokers without judgment will be crucial to making the policy work, experts and advocates said.

The housing authority tested anti-smoking efforts with a pilot program at its 830 Amsterdam Ave. building on the Upper West Side, where nearly 90 percent of tenants signed a pledge to try and not smoke, said Shirley Williams, president of the building's resident association.

Community accountability was a big piece of the program — even kids will tell an adult when they spot someone smoking in the building, Williams said.

"You have to gain a relationship with your tenants, with the people," Williams said.

Harlem Health Advocacy Partners offers workshops for smokers trying to quit at five NYCHA complexes in East and Central Harlem. The housing authority hopes to bring those groups to more developments, Mata said.

"Quitting smoking is hard, and we have to recognize that without judging people and pointing fingers," said Carrie Sealy, a NYCHA resident and community health worker supervisor for Harlem Health Advocacy Partners.

(Lead image: A NYCHA complex is pictured in June 2016. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)