INDEX NO.

152723/2014

FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/15/2015 05:25 PM

NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47

RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/15/2015

CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF NEW YORK
------------------------X
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES
of the
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
------------------------X
May 2, 2013
Start: 1:29 p.m.
Recess: 5:53 p.m.
HELD AT:

Council Chambers
City Hall

B E F O R E:
MARIA DEL CARMEN ARROYO
Chairperson
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Inez E. Dickens
Mathieu Eugene
Julissa Ferreras
Helen D. Foster
Rosie Mendez
Joel Rivera
Peter F. Vallone, Jr.
Albert Vann
Deborah L. Rose
James G. Van Bramer

Ubiqus 22 Cortlandt Street Suite 802, New York, NY 10007

Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524

65

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

implementation of the bill to address those

concerns, we would be happy to talk about them.

Again, our experience in other countries--I was up

in Canada, and they were complying.

in drawers.

think most of them would be like that, but there

does need to be some--it needs to be done

carefully, so that is not abused in one direction

10

They had them

There was not a problem.

I would

or the other.

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CHAIRPERSON ARROYO:

I look forward

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to that conversation.

Let's talk about hookah for

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a minute, and that the product that is used in

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that type of smoking, and I know that one of my

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colleagues has a piece of legislation pending

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before us that would ban further permits from

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being issued in the city, but the product that is

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used in that, is that tobacco?

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regulated in the same way that we are speaking?

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We have to have a particular piece of legislation.

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COMMISSIONER FARLEY:

Why is it not

There are

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hookah bars.

Those are places where people smoke

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through a water pipe a product that is presented

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as not having tobacco in it, and the way that the

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current law is written if you are smoking

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COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

something that doesn't have tobacco in it, then

the smoke free air act doesn't apply.

that.

Department that often in fact there is tobacco in

that product, but it is very difficult to prove

that without some difficult and expensive

laboratory testing.

in when they are smoking anything that is burning

They can do

Now there is concern under the part of the

The smoke that people breathe

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in a water pipe is dangerous.

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monoxide in it.

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in it, and so we are concerned about smoking in

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hookah bars, which is also presented often as

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being safe when we don't view it as being safe.

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So this issue came up to us as I think you noticed

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a few days ago and so we didn't have a chance to

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think through all of the issues around the bill,

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but we would be happy to talk to you and Council

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Member Gentile about what might be appropriate to

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do about those hookah bars.

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It has carbon

It has cancer causing chemicals

CHAIRPERSON ARROYO:

Okay.

And we

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will pursue that conversation.

The Committee is a

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little bit overwhelmed given Sandy and everything

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else that is happening, but it is something that

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we do want to pursue a conversation about.