Smoking Complaint

The Smoke Free Air Act of 2002 prohibits smoking of tobacco products, and using electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), in most establishments and businesses with employees.

These include:

• Business establishments, including banks and other financial institutions
• Child day care centers
• Convention halls
• Gyms, health clubs, and other membership associations
• Health care facilities
• Libraries
• Museums and galleries
• Office buildings, factories and warehouses
• Public and private schools
• Restaurants and bars
• Residential buildings, common areas only 
• Shopping malls and retail stores (other than retail tobacco stores)
• Sports recreational arenas
• Theaters, concert halls, and auditoriums
• Zoos

There are rare exceptions to the Smoke Free Air Act, so you should check with individual establishments to find out if smoking is allowed.

Learn more about the Smoke Free Air Act and smoking laws.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene accepts complaints about smoking, and the placement of cigarette vending machines, in bars or restaurants.

Smoking tobacco products or using electronic cigarettes is illegal in most bars and restaurants under the Smoke Free Air Act. Cigarette vending machines must be more than 25 feet from the entrance and within an employee's view.

The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) does not allow smoking in the following areas:

• All New York City parks 
• Beaches and boardwalks 
• Pools and playgrounds
• Public golf courses 
• Sports stadium grounds 
• Pedestrian plazas such as those at Times Square and Herald Square

Learn about smoking laws for City parks and beaches.

If someone refuses to stop smoking in one of these areas, tell a local Parks Department employee or a Park Enforcement Officer if one is available. Violators may get a $50 ticket.

You can report smoking at a construction site. It is illegal to smoke within the boundaries of a construction site.

In your report, include:

• Where the person was smoking
• When the person was smoking
• Who is smoking (only provide general information; do not include a name or personal information)

You can make a complaint about a building owner who has failed to disclose or share a policy on smoking or any changes to their policy on smoking in a residential building with three or more units.

All residential buildings with three or more units are required by law to create a policy on smoking, including a policy on smoking within residential units, and disclose it to all current and future tenants. 

The law requires that owners:  

• Create a policy on smoking and disclose it to current and future tenants
• Disclose where smoking is and is not allowed on the property (including all indoor and outdoor locations)
• Notify tenants yearly about the policy on smoking 
• Notify tenants if the policy on smoking changes

You can make a complaint about someone smoking cannabis (marijuana) and tobacco products, or using electronic cigarettes, anywhere in a commercial or government building, and in the common areas of a residential building with 3 or more units. You must include the building owner's information in your service request.

Common areas include: 

• Lobbies 
• Hallways 
• Stairways 
• Elevators 
• Basements 
• Garages 
• Laundry rooms

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene does not prohibit smoking in individual residences or apartments.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that all public housing are smoke-free.

The new policy prohibits the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and hookah pipes in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) indoor common areas, within public housing units, in administrative offices, and in outdoor areas within 25 feet of NYCHA buildings.

If you have a question or comment about the policy, you can send an email to smoke-free@nycha.nyc.gov.

Learn more about NYCHA's Smoke-Free Policy.

You can make a complaint to the NYCHA Customer Contact Center about smoking in all apartments, outdoor areas within 25 feet of any public housing building, in lobbies, stairwells, and on roofs.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene accepts complaints about smoking in locations covered by the Smoke Free Air Act. You can also make a complaint about the location of a cigarette vending machine.

Report improper cigarette vending machine placement.