Yonkers, NY Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Article IV of Chapter 68 (Smoking), added in 2011 and amended in 2022, targets outdoor smoking around playground equipment specifically, separate from the older Article II fire-hazard 'no smoking' authority given to the Fire Commissioner in § 68-5. § 68-11 defines 'playground' broadly to reach any outdoor area designated for children to play, listing see-saws, merry-go-rounds, swing sets, slides, jungle gyms, chin-up bars, sandboxes, spring riders, monkey bars, overhead ladders, trapeze rings, playhouses and mazes under Parks and Recreation jurisdiction, and its 2022 amendment expanded 'smoking' to include carrying a lighted pipe, cigar or cigarette as well as electronic cigarettes, vaping devices and marijuana in any form. § 68-12 then states the operative rule: smoking is prohibited in any playground, or within 50 feet of any play equipment, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation, provided that this section does not apply to the sidewalks immediately adjoining playgrounds.

The 50-foot buffer runs from the equipment itself, not the playground boundary, so it can reach benches and open lawn near swing sets even outside a fenced play area, while the sidewalk carve-out keeps someone smoking while walking past on a public sidewalk from being swept in. § 68-13 sets the penalty on its own track, separate from the Class III penalty that governs the rest of Chapter 68 under § 68-10: any violation of Article IV results in a flat $50 fine.