NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The New Year brings with it some new laws, about a dozen of them in New York City.
One that affects just about every city resident is a ban on Styrofoam, which sanitation officials say can’t be recycled and ends up as a common pollutant and hazard to wildlife.
While taking a victory lap Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city has to be a part of the solution.
“When we talk about a city for everyone, when we talk about the fairest big city in America… that starts with being a city that you can live in; a city that’s clean; a city that’s healthy; a city that’s going to survive global warming,” the mayor said. “This Styrofoam ban takes us in the right direction.”
Another new law bans the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies across the city.
And birth certificates issued in the city will now allow residents to put an “X” for their gender identity, rather than choosing male or female. Residents can also now change the gender entry on their birth certificates without a doctor signing off.
In New Jersey, a ban on smoking at state parks and beaches takes effect, and the state now requires its citizens to have health insurance.
That second measure is expected to help keep New Jersey’s health insurance markets in business after a GOP tax bill killed Obamacare’s individual mandate.