Union, NY Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Parks covered
- All parks, including indoor and outdoor park facilities
- Entrance buffer
- Public property within 50 feet of any park entrance
- Boundary buffer
- Public property within 25 feet of any park boundary
- Products covered
- Tobacco, vaping and similar products, including oral use
- Adopted and amended
- L.L. No. 1-2002; § 169-1 amended 7-18-2019, L.L. No. 8-2019
- Complaint contact
- Broome County Board of Health Enforcement Officer
Summary
Town of Union Code § 169-1 bans tobacco, vaping and similar tobacco-based products at all parks, indoors and outdoors, and on public property within 50 feet of any park entrance and within 25 feet of any park boundary. The Town Board adopted Chapter 169 in 2002 and amended § 169-1 in 2019. It applies in the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City.
The use of tobacco, vaping and other similar tobacco-based products, including, but not limited to, any such products that either produce smoke or vapors or is taken or used orally, is prohibited at all parks, including all indoor and outdoor park facilities, as well as on public property within 50 feet of any park entrance and within 25 feet of any park boundary, except as may be otherwise be set forth in any applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 169 of the Town of Union Code was adopted by the Town Board on January 16, 2002 as L.L. No. 1-2002, and § 169-1 was amended on July 18, 2019 by L.L. No. 8-2019. The amended text reaches beyond cigarettes. It prohibits the use of tobacco, vaping and other similar tobacco-based products, including any such product that produces smoke or vapors and any product that is taken or used orally.
The ban has three location pieces. First, it applies at all parks, and the code states that this includes all indoor and outdoor park facilities. Second, it applies on public property within 50 feet of any park entrance. Third, it applies on public property within 25 feet of any park boundary. A person standing on a public sidewalk near a park gate or along a park edge is inside a buffer even while outside the park itself. The only exception printed in § 169-1 is for terms otherwise set forth in an applicable collective bargaining agreement.
The rest of the chapter is written around the Town workforce. Section 169-2 encourages employees to present concerns to a supervisor and lets them register a complaint with the Broome County Board of Health Enforcement Officer. Section 169-3 requires "No Smoking" signs on all Town-owned buildings. Section 169-5 designates the Human Resources Director as an agent who assists enforcement by notifying employees who are in violation.
Chapter 169 is a Town Board local law, so it governs the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City. Both villages are separate jurisdictions with their own codes, and a park inside either village falls under that village's code rather than this chapter.
Violations & Fines
Section 169-4 is the only penalty clause in the chapter. It states that employees found smoking outside the designated smoking areas are in violation and are subject to the penalty prescribed by the Broome County Board of Health Enforcement Officer. The chapter prints no dollar fine or jail term for members of the public who use tobacco or vape at a park or inside the 50-foot and 25-foot buffers, so the code itself sets no fixed penalty for visitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Town of Union park ban cover vaping?
How close to a park can I use tobacco on public property?
Who takes complaints under Chapter 169?
Does the ban apply inside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union
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