One of the nation's biggest landlords is banning smoking in all 40,000 rental units across America. Starting this month, new tenants at Related Companies' apartments must sign a document promising not to smoke inside their apartments, nor on their private terraces or balconies. Penalties for violators include eviction, and tenants who even dream about smoking a cigarette in their obscenely overpriced apartments better wake up and apologize to Related.
Current tenants are immune to the ban for now, but if they want to renew their leases they too will have to promise not to light up inside or immediately outside their homes. Although it's hard to feel too sorry for anyone lucky enough to have a freaking private terrace, the extension of the ban to an outdoor space does seem a little heavy-handed. Of course, try telling that to the healthy person on the terrace one floor up who has to breathe second-hand smoke while practicing Prana Yoga every morning.
“It’s just mean," smoker Polina Skoch, a resident of Related’s One Union Square South, tells the Times. "I thought it couldn’t get any worse when the city banned smoking in parks." Ha yeah, remember when NYC banned smoking in parks and then nobody ever dared smoke in the parks again? We're guessing this apartment ban will be similarly ignored and difficult to enforce. Alternatively, this seems as good an excuse as any to finally get into snuff.
