Every year, New Rochelle City Hall receives a visit from members of the Boys and Girls Club who play the part of City officials for a day, and it’s been a long-standing tradition for the kids who take the role of Council Members to offer ideas for new laws.
The kids’ suggestions are always interesting, thoughtful, and fun, but usually not exactly the right fit for municipal policy-making, and so these suggestions have never been formally adopted into law . . . until this year.
Boys and Girls Club member Abby Rittenberg proposed that New Rochelle prohibit vape shops and tobacco stores from operating near areas where children congregate, and last night the City Council approved a new law doing just that, with a 500 foot perimeter around schools, playgrounds, day care centers, and other youth facilities.
The law won’t apply to existing businesses, which are grandfathered, but will govern business activities going forward.
Thanks for the great suggestion, Abby!