Well, at least you can still brown-bag a beer.
MTA police will crack down on riders smoking on the commuter rail lines today, enforcing a new ban on lighting up on outdoor platforms, ticket booths, and parking lots.
Anyone caught smoking at Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad facilities will be subject to a maximum $50 fine — and a possible 30-day jail sentence.
Riders might even be ejected from the system if they refuse to comply.
The ban — enacted by Albany lawmakers — has been in place since Nov. 13 but had a three-month grace period that gave the MTA a chance to spread the word.
Now smokers, with one less way to cope with the stress of commuting, say the rules go too far.
One Long Island smoker is so mad about the rule, he’d rather do jail time than pay a $50 fine.
“I’ll take the 30 days — I’m not going to give them no money,” said Vroman Wright, 31, of Westbury, who was taking his last legal puffs near the parking lot of the Mineola station.
“It’s the dumbest rule in the world,” Wright said. “I can’t smoke outside? I’m not even on the platform right now.”
Smoking has long been banned in the indoor parts of commuter rail terminals — including inside Grand Central Terminal, Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, and waiting rooms.
MTA cops are not planning any special effort to enforce the ban — they’ll write tickets in “the normal course of business,” an MTA source said.
Besides issuing tickets, cops will have discretion to order those who get summonses for lighting up to leave MTA property.
The law doesn’t apply at Metro-North stations in Connecticut, where state law generally allows smoking outdoors. NJ Transit has banned smoking on train platforms since 2006.
The American Lung Association called the new law “a major win for public health.” But many smokers are fed up.
“This is really starting to get out of control,” said Bethany Dieken, 22, a student at Pace University waiting for a train yesterday in White Plains.
“I understand why people can’t smoke inside restaurants or near schools or whatever,” Dieken said. “But we’re standing outside freezing on a platform, and usually it’s not that crowded here.
“If somebody doesn’t like the fact that I’m smoking, they can just move to the other side of the platform.”
“This is really imposing upon my freedoms,” said Diki Sadutshang, 20, a Manhattanville College student also waiting for a train in White Plains.
“I shouldn’t be afraid to smoke around other people,” said Sadutshang. “I mean, the smoke just goes up into the air anyway. Are we trying to save the ozone layer too?
“It’s too much to think about. It’s stressing me out already — I need another one,” said Sadutshang. “I smoke out here every day. It will be hard to stop.”
