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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