Abstract
This article describes the evaluation of the law banning smoking in New York City’s parks and beaches that went into effect in 2011. We discuss the practical and methodological challenges that emerged in evaluating this law, and describe how we applied the principles of critical multiplism to address these issues. The evaluation uses data from three complementary studies, each with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses that can provide converging evidence for the effectiveness of the law. Results from a litter audit and an observational study suggest the ban reduced smoking in parks and beaches. The purpose, methodology and baseline results from an ongoing survey that measures how frequently adults in NYC and across New York State notice people smoking in parks and on beaches are presented and discussed. Limitations are considered and suggestions are offered for future evaluations of similar policies.
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Notes
A Moran’s I test of spatial clustering confirmed that the selected sites were distributed evenly across the boroughs (z = 1.06, p > .10). The average size of the parks included in the sample was 359 total acres. Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx was the largest park in the sample (2,700 acres) and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was the smallest park in the sample (.20 acres). The total acreage of the parks included in the sample did not differ by borough.
On July 20th a sewage treatment plant in upper Manhattan released untreated waste into the Hudson River. South and Midland beaches on Staten Island were closed to swimming between July 27th and August 1st as a result. Visitors were still allowed on the sand and boardwalk during the closure.
The mean pattern of smoking litter did not vary based on whether the playground was located in a park or outside a park.
Adult Tobacco Survey data were provided by the New York State Department of Health. Analysis and interpretation of these data was determined solely by the authors of the current article.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Keith Kerman, Sherry Lee and Michelle Darbouze from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for their help designing the sample and collecting data for the smoking litter audit. We also thank Kari Auer, Ijeoma Mbamalu and the staff from the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control for their help collecting data for the litter audit study and the observational study of smoking in parks.
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Johns, M., Coady, M.H., Chan, C.A. et al. Evaluating New York City’s Smoke-Free Parks and Beaches Law: A Critical Multiplist Approach to Assessing Behavioral Impact. Am J Community Psychol 51, 254–263 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9519-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9519-5