Smokers in the Village of Great Neck: Listen up!
Finding a place for that butt of yours will become even more of a challenge. Sidewalks are now off limits.
"I don't think it's fair honestly," said Robby Lexii.
"It's not against the law to smoke. If people don't want to breathe in the smoke ... just don't walk through the crowd of people smoking," said Toni Szilagi.
Town officials are banning smoking tobacco and other substances within 125 feet of Middle Neck Road in front of commercial businesses.
The ban also applys to sidewalks in the Village Green Park and the Village Housing Authority.
"It started off with complaints from two businesses that people were standing in front of and the smoke was coming through their doors," said Mayor Ralph Kreitzman.
Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman tells NBCNewYork it's what the people in his community want to see happen.
"Except for one complaint that we've received, it has been uniformly good," said Mayor Kreitzman.
So, what happens if you're caught smoking? You could be fined up to 1 thousand dollars or worse - spend 15 days behind bars."
"That's crazy just for smoking a cigarette," said Lexii.
A stop in at the Village Barbershop found some customers were against the ban.
"I'm not a smoker but I feel people should be able to do what they want to do in public," said Daniel Alterbaum.
A mother of two, however, is happy to see it in place.
"Secondhand smoke is not healthy," said Nancy Granoff.
