NEW YORK — A New York City lawmaker wants to designate outdoor smoking sections in parks and on beaches.

The city has banned smoking in bars and restaurants. It is also poised to completely snuff out cigarettes in public parks, on beaches and in pedestrian plazas.

But City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. says that under his plan, about 20 percent of each park would be a designated smoking area.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other backers of the smoking ban say that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can pose health risks.

Vallone is introducing his bill as a compromise. He says that a small smoking section in a large park should satisfy everybody.

Hearings on both bills were planned at the City Council on Thursday.