August - September 2002 Edition 

Council Bans Smoking Near School   By Chris Neidenberg    It will be "zero tolerance" for smoking on public property anywhere within 1,000 feet of all school buildings, under an ordinance the council plans adopting, Mayor David L. Ganz has announced.  The pending decision will also eliminate a designated smoking area near Fair Lawn High School that the council only created in April, despite howls of protests from a coalition of anti-tobacco groups.    To get around a state law banning smoking on school-owned property, the council leased from the school board a grassy knoll site behind the Berdan Avenue building and off Fairclough Place - in a region called "The Corral" - where students were able to light up for the last two months of the 2001-2002 school year.   This area will be gone before the 2002-2003 school year. In an interview with Fair Lawn News, Ganz said the council never intended the zone to be permanent. This, despite the fact that part of the strategy was to offer it as an alternative spot for teen smokers in trying to keep them off streets - including Berdan Avenue, as well as Orchard, Lexington and Burbank streets, all near the building. Residents in these areas complained that students were dumping large quantities of butts on lawns, streets and sidewalks, during lunch and after school.   "We (council) said that (zone) was only an interim solution in lieu of a long-term solution, and we have come up with a long-term solution," said the mayor, who only three months ago in supporting the zone, told one anti-smoking activist that it was a parent's responsibility to keep their kids from smoking. "This ordinance will carry the same weight as the state law imposing stiffer penalties for distributing narcotics in the same area outside school buildings."   Asked if he was concerned that eliminating the high school zone will drive student smokers back to the streets this fall, Ganz said he expects they will simply obey the law. "If you light up anywhere on public property in the designated area, you run the risk of getting a ticket," warned the mayor, a Democratic candidate for Bergen County freeholder.    The proposal calls for banning smoking everywhere in the region except on private property, provided smokers have permission from the property owner. In addition to police, the proposal contains a provision letting any private citizen witnessing smoking in the restricted area (including school employees) to file a newly-authorized citizens complaint.   Both Deputy Mayor Steve Weinstein and Councilman Allan Caan hailed the initiative in the borough's press release. Weinstein said it was "important," while Caan suggested that it was "a logical extension of the borough's program to discourage young people from smoking." County and state groups opposed to the high school smoking area include New Jersey GASP (Group Against Smoking Pollution), the Communities Against Tobacco Coalition, and the Bergen County chapter of the American Lung Association.    For Previous Stories on Smoking and Littering at the High School, see the Education Page.      What Do You Think?: Send an e- mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com or post a message on the Fair Lawn News Discussion Forum.        Note: Mr. Neidenberg is a talented local writer looking for a job. If you have a job tip for him, send an e- mail to chrisneidenberg@hotmail.com