By Molly Fischer

Some New York developers are banning smoking in their rental units, reports The Times. Starting this month, Related will ask new tenants in some of its downtown buildings to agree not to smoke in their homes (smokers already residing will be grandfathered in); meanwhile, Kenbar Management will ban smoking not only inside apartments but also on all terraces and adjacent sidewalks.

This is happening nationally, but seems particularly in keeping with the city’s current enthusiasm for smoking bans: “No place seems immune,” writes The Times, “certainly not restaurants or bars, and public beaches and parks may not be far behind.”

Of course, the crucial difference is that no one makes money off sitting in parks:

That 950,000 New Yorkers - or 16 percent of the population - call themselves smokers, according to the city’s health department, is not insignificant, said Daniel Baum, chief executive at the Developers Group/The Real Estate Group of New York, a brokerage that focuses on rentals.

“I think in general it’s probably not an ideal time to try to limit potential tenants,” Mr. Baum said. “Every occupied apartment counts.”

Source: http://www.observer.com/2009/daily-transom/developers-experiment-smoking-bans