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Op-Ed: Smoking Should Be Banned in Front of 770

by Anonymous

There is something that bothers me about going in and out of 770. Namely, when you go up or down the steps to the main doors of 770, many a time you are entering an area with heavy second-hand smoke going straight into your face.

I am not trying to tell people whether they should smoke or not, but they are making me go through the smoke by filling the area with second-hand fumes. More than that many young children pass through there are also subject to the experience. When they see people smoking it encourages them to smoke in their own lives in the future as they see it as an acceptable activity. That’s without mentioning the bad health concequences of the smoke and the unplaseean aroma that goes with it.

Some buildings in the city have a sign of no smoking within so many feet of the building. Here it’s not even a question of smoking near the building, but the step area is really like the building itself – as that’s the main entrance to the building and it’s enclosed. There are ashtrays there so it seems that the people who placed them there are in agreement that that’s the designated smoking area. It seems to me that according to NYC law smoking there would probably be permitted, which I assume is the reason in remains to be allowed in this case.

As we know that smoking in the first place is questionable according to halacha, as it certainly endangers your health and the people who live near you. My question is: how can we possibly allow so many people to have to be subjected to going in and out and inhaling all this smoke? Can the ones who are in the position to do something about it please stand up and ban smoking on the staircase of 770?

Also, it is not Chassidish to smoke. It looks ‘grub’ and out of touch with reality. The Rebbeim discouraged smoking in letters, as is known. Also, you have to consider how it looks to outsiders, as it’s an issue of Kiddush Hashem or the opposite. It will probably be hard to get people to stop smoking there, because that’s the status quo, but things that are difficult are often-time the most worthwhile pursuits.

Thank you

A Crown Heights Resident

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43 Comments

  • CH Wife

    I always feel terrible for wives of smoking husbands. Im sure they are very unhappy having to live with a always coughing and smelly husband. I wish the Rabbonim would issue a letter banning smoking!

  • Frederick Hayeck

    Sometimes, what you want is not more important then what other people want. Don’t force people to live a certain way so that you aren’t inconvenienced. If it bothers you so much just use one of the other doors.

  • 770 bochur

    I totally agree…yet I’m sure nothing will happen. Why would a community who shovels in greasy food and nosh and has rampant alcholoism care about second hand smoke?

  • Cough!

    I think that the smokers don’t realize (or admit) that the smoke they put out is harmful to others. For some reason it’s o.k. to breath in their smoke, but I doubt they would want others to breath in smoke from another source. They are addicted to it, and therefore need to be given firm boundaries and rules. I think that smoking should not be allowed so close to the building. How about getting input from medical professionals or leaders who have some amount of influence in your community.I know I myself get quite ill when exposed to others’ smoke, so I will not be entering that building any time soon!

  • Gag!

    Sets a bad example. Creates a negative for Chabad. Looks unhealthy. Feels unhealthy. Is unhealthy. Let THEM use another door, a back door! Why should a main entrance be all fogged up and crowded with disgusting smoke? I get it for 2 seconds and I’m sick!

  • BigBen

    I agree 100%. The author forgot to mention that the smoke wafts into 770 and exposes all occupants to that harmful smoke.
    Fred you are wrong. I don’t mind if you smoke as long as you don’t exhale.
    The “Gabboim” should move those ash cans away and post signs prohibiting smoking in that area.

  • Sorry

    I happen to not smoke. I’m a 28 28 year old male and in my entire life have smoked less than 20 cigarettes. Yet, I detest the people that don’t know how to live and let live. Nosh world, Gombos, Sweet Expressions etc. are also bad examples for our kids. At least as many people that die from smoking die from obesity. Perhaps the refreshments machine in 770 should be hauled off…

    And if you believe in this whole second hand smoking sham, I have a bridge to sell you…

  • 770s Dark Smoke

    I haven’t been in 770 in years and wont return until the black harmful smoke (Meshichistim) that has taken over 770 are evicted.

    They are a danger to all!

    Besides, being a father who wants to Mechanich (educate) his children how to sit in shul, to Davven and listen to Kreyas Ha’Torah, I find 770 to be harmful. Instead, like most of Crown Heights, I have found a Shul in which there is a community of it’s own, with a Rov and simply is what a Shul is supposed to be (a place to Davven).

  • antimesira

    Heres a good solution, stop going to 770.
    Find a normal shul with a normal community!

  • awacs

    Both the Rebbe and the Friediker Rebbe smoked. Would you call them ‘grub’ too?

  • bochur

    the gabboim who never put a ban to smoke there because menachem gerlitski (a gabai) smokes there regularly

  • Bananuh

    …About the smoking cigarettes and encouraging kids to smoke, that is the lack of the child’s knowledge due to the educator.

    ~ Locco Rocco

  • About time someone speaks up

    I personally know plenty of people who always thought that we should ban smoking not only on the stairs but also the block infront of 770.

    Its about time that someone spoke up about this, and its about time that we all!
    please sign the petition
    http://www.ipetitions.com/p…

  • NYC is considering this law

    The 2010 Legislature is considering several bills to expand smokefree protections, including playgrounds, cars when minors are present, parks, beaches, and within a reasonable distance from entrances of smokefree buildings.

  • bh

    bh
    btw since you had to mix in the rebbe, please show us where are these “known” letters.

  • Shaina

    Well written article. Thank you author, for bringing this issue to the forefront.I also feel that smoking outside of 770 is awful for all the reasons you mentioned. Here’s one more. As a shlucha from a small town, I have stopped bringing our mikuravim to 770 as I’m so embarrassed for them to see ALL the things inside and out that should not be there.So has my husband.

  • To #8

    What in the world are you saying?! Are you serious? Several people are blowing out smoke into a confined area, smoke that you can actually see, smell, and taste! And you are actually calling the second hand smoke effect issue a sham?? My goodness, I just walk past someONE and get sick from it! Why would you think that one multiplied by maybe 8 people’s cigarette smoke would not be harmful? Are you kidding me? Wow! You are in such denial!

  • To #8

    The nosh, the candy, etc. are not healthy,true; however they are not polluting the air for others to be affected. Those people are harming themselves,but the smokers are affecting others in their immediate area. I get a sore throat and headache from second hand smoke, and the more smoke there is in a small area, the sicker I am. Second hand smoke may sound like a meaningless catch phrase to you, but think about what it actually is. There’s SMOKE in the air, and others breathe it in! Smoke in the lungs is not healthy, first OR second hand. How is that an arguable issue? I’m not interested in your bridge, nor am I interested in breathing in smoke!

  • Mordechai ben Shulumat

    The addicts feeding their addictions at the entry of 770 sure do set a shining example of the “pious Jew” to others.

    Sad part is they not only destroy the “pious Jew” theme others work so hard to establish but they share their exhaled cancer with others smart enough to preserve their health & money.

  • nsker

    Idling cars in front of 770 are much bigger problem. It is illegal to idle your car in this city with engine running, and the fumes are even more harmful. Yet nobody seems to be so concerned.

  • Nobody

    As long as the supporters of this have no issue with the bans on the Internet, concerts, etc.

    After all, anything you don’t approve of deserves to be banned …

  • You are rationalizing.

    That has nothing to do with it! Smoke harms the inside of the body. No choice, no thought . The others entail an amount of choice, thought, etc.

  • For #25

    Yes! So there is more than one example of poor behavior, and they are all sad, sad examples of uncared for, unattended problems. Noone is leading this group of what appears to be a downward spiral. It not only looks bad, it’s pathetic. Who can do something about it? There is such potential, yet such massacring of the ideal.

  • Agree with you but...

    “Also, it is not Chassidish to smoke. It looks ‘grub’ and out of touch with reality.” Well I think you just called the Frierdeker Rebbe a grubaryun. And second the Frierdeker Rebbe said that till 20 years old he doesnt want his bochrim to smoke and that after that it was a bakasha nafshis that you shouldnt smoke.

    So there you have it.

    Please dont say anything judgmental to the public so as to put them down in such a way.

  • Not Just Cool

    You people make it sound there is nothing positive or relaxing that comes from smoking.
    Do you really think the Rabeim used to smoke because it looked cool? To impress their friends?
    It’s true they stopped once they were told about the risks but they didn’t start because of peer pressure.

  • moti

    to #8 tell that to the people who have died from second-hand smoke (google Roy Castle, England)

    Also I don’t get something chassidus is all about controlling the yetzer etc. so how can a chossid say “I can’t give it up I’m addicted”? What if you’re addicted to aveiros?

  • Menschkeit

    No one said that people should quit, they said they should not smoke at the entrance of 770! If we stick to the topic, we might get to a resolution. Yes, there is addiction involved. Yes, there is pleasure involved. And yes, please get that pleasure out of my eyes and ears and face and lungs. Especially lungs. If there were something I was doing that affected others in a negative way, I know I’d not only willingly, but voluntarily remove the activity from the problem area’ It’s the menschkeit thing to do, no?

  • #30-

    I don’t know what you are trying to convey there. The issue was to stop smoking at the entrance of 770, whether or not it is cool, pleasurable, addictive, or anything else. The writer wants there to be more considerate and fair behavior so that others do not become upset or sick from the smoke, no matter how much or how little smoke and smell there is on any given day. They can smoke, if they want to or need to, just get it out of others’ way. We do not have the power to stop their smoking, but we have the right to ask that it go elsewhere. Is that so terrible? They smoke somewhere else, we go in through the entrance comfortably. That’s it. For those who rationalize or are in denial, think about just being kinder in the face of your habit and others who do not indulge. Smoke is a physical reality that by most accounts isn’t good for us. Just be considerate, that’s all…..

  • Ergo

    A man is supposed to do show respect to others. A smoking man is still a man. Ergo——-

  • To #35

    Point well taken! I agree! Sometimes to-the-point comments ARE the point!

  • Eased entrance, please....

    Get rid of the smoke over there! I can’t stand it! How disrespectful it is to every other person trying to just go in and daven without being slam dunk in the middle of that! And, no, it it not an exaggeration for those whom it bothers! YOU might think it’s an exaggeration, but even a small bit of smoke in the air bothers me, so the smoke at the entrance is no small bit! Get rid of that smoke over there! And, no, I do not want to be the one to find another entrance. Smokers are the ones creating that awful smoke, so THEY need to bring it elsewhere! Please let the rest of us go in with ease! The main entrance needs to be the easy way in for ANYONE, not the easy way in for the small faction creating the interference in breathing!

  • awacs

    “Smokers are the ones creating that awful smoke, so THEY need to bring it elsewhere!”

    IOW, #38, your wish to breathe smoke-free air is more important than his right to enjoy a cigarette? And, you decided that … how?

    Oh? Did I miss the memo appointing you king?

  • To #39

    One is not more important than the other. That wasn’t my point. Someone has the right to enjoy a cigarette, AND someone has a right to a smoke-free entrance to their place of worship. Since the smokers are creating an offensive air quality in a contained area, I think they are the ones who should light up elsewhere. In that arrangement, smokers can enjoy a cigarette while others can enter in comfort and a feeling of ease. You see, counter to what you might think, smoke can be harmful and oppressive to nonsmokers. Why would smokers insist on enjoying their cigarettes while others are being adversely affected? Are you saying that all smokers are inconsiderate of others? Are you denying that nonsmokers really have a bad reaction to the smoke? Would you blow smoke in a baby’s bedroom every day? Why or why not? Nobody appointed me king! Did someone appoint you to be a spokesperson to represent inconsiderate, uncaring, behavior?!

  • #39....

    You’re serious? Smoky air in one’s lungs is equivalent in importance to enjoying a cigarette? One person’s personal enjoyment vs. several people’s coughing, compromised breathing, nauseated, uncomfortable reaction….hmm..let’s see…..oh, I don’t know….um….NO! BTW, although I’d feel bad for a smoker because I’d worry he might eventually have health concerns. I’d have so much respect for his capacity to smoke elsewhere. He would be showing consideration of my difficulties as a result of the smoke. To me that would show his menchkeit humanity , his kindness, his consideration of others. That person does not feel entitled to disregard the discomfort of others while satisfying his own pleasure. Noone appointed me king. Did someone appoint your personal pleasure more important than others’ actual physical harm?

  • Huh?

    Yes! His wish to breathe smoke-free air is more important than another’s right to enjoy a cigarette! Are you kidding me?! Listen to yourself!@

  • Point of view----

    He can not listen to himself with accurate perception, because when one is addicted one is not able to feel empathy at a level of putting someone else first. Furthermore, the addict is in denial, because he needs the drug (nicotine). In my experience, it is when the person in not addicted by virtue of the fact that he does not smoke any more, that he is able to perceive his prior behavior as selfish. In my case, when I quit smoking I was shocked that I did not put my family’s health first. Now I too am sickened by second hand smoke. But I know this is a very hot issue, and I don’t envy either side of the equation.