Albany, NY Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

A backyard smoker — offset stick burners, pellet smokers, kamado ceramic cookers, vertical water smokers, electric smokers, and propane-fired smokers — falls within IFC §308 because the device contains a cooking fire for human consumption. The same Group R-2 multi-family balcony prohibition applies as for charcoal grills: charcoal and wood-fired smokers may not be operated on combustible balconies of apartment buildings unless the building is protected throughout by an automatic sprinkler system. Electric smokers without an open flame are not subject to the §308 prohibition but remain subject to lease terms and to fire and smoke nuisance considerations. At single-family and two-family detached homes, smokers must observe manufacturer clearance recommendations (typically 10 feet from combustible construction) and NFPA 58 standards for any LP-gas container. Smokers produce more sustained smoke than open-flame grills, which raises the practical nuisance risk: 12-to-16-hour brisket or pulled-pork cooks generating dense smoke that drifts into neighboring open windows or air-conditioning intakes have been a recurring basis for complaints to Albany's Code Enforcement Division. Albany Code Chapter 255 Article V (Unnecessary and Unusual Noises) addresses noise nuisance during 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. quiet hours; persistent smoke is more typically addressed under Albany Code Chapter 313 (Property Maintenance) and common-law private nuisance under New York Real Property Law. New York common-law nuisance (private and public) provides additional remedy — persistent smoke drift can be the basis for a private civil action in Albany County Supreme Court for damages and injunctive relief. Best practice: position the smoker downwind of neighboring bedroom windows and AC intakes, avoid all-night unattended smokes, use seasoned hardwood to minimize creosote, and confirm lease terms before operating any smoker on multi-family property.