Photo right by Gus Saltonstall.
By Gus Saltonstall
With the New York Mets and Yankees struggling all season, and Aaron Rodgers hurt in his Jets debut, local sports fans haven’t had much to cheer about in recent months.
But New York City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who represents the majority of the Upper West Side above 96th Street, is looking to create an alternative kind of sporting excitement. On Thursday, he introduced a bill to allow New Yorkers to bring reusable water containers into sports venues within the five boroughs.
The majority of New York City arenas and stadiums forbid fans from entering with any sort of reusable water bottle, which leads to an “unnecessary build-up of waste from plastic cups,” Abreu said, in a press release. Under his bill, venues could still require containers to be empty upon entry.
“This is our chance to step up to the plate and ensure that major sports venues that serve hundreds of thousands of fans are doing their part to reduce waste and encourage environmentally-conscious behaviors,” Abreu added. “This legislation is good for the fans and good for our planet.”
The venues affected would include the Columbia and Fordham University gyms, Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Citi Field, Barclay’s Center, and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The bill also applies to concerts. It still has to make its way through the Council before it becomes law, after which it will go into effect in 60 days.
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If the containers are empty when you enter the venue I can’t see how this could be a security problem. Even airports allow you to bring an empty bottle and fill it up after passing through security.
I imagine the concern is not explosives but rather (a) smuggling in alcohol [checking opaque bottles would be a pain at entry] and (b) throwing–I wouldn’t want to get beaned by a 24-oz. Zojirushi!
It’s a good idea but remember: You still have to fill it up with something. The venues will still charge you if you want something more than water. If it means that people don’t have to drink their beer in a plastic cup or bottle, it probably will reduce the garbage.
If this works well, perhaps the venues should only be allowed serve those with their own containers. (I’m not holding my breath though).
Water bottle marketing is a scam. Why does anyone need a fancy water bottle in NYC where there are million of places to get water, usually free. People walk around with the bulky heavy expensive water bottles like we’re in the desert. They have fountains in stadiums, give someone a paper cup.
Not all water fountains are safe to drink from. I don’t want to drink from an old fashioned one. Too many mouths may have made contact or breathed on the spout.
The better ones are those where the water drops down to the cup/bottle, but they require regular maintenance that would have to be paid for.
There are not millions of places to get water free. There probably aren’t more that about 100 across the whole city. I can’t think of any in Manhattan except a few in the parks which are germ factories.
The US Open allowed fans to bring in water bottles this year, and it was great — instead of paying for overpriced water in plastic bottles, my family and I could just fill up our water bottles for free at the fountains. It would be great to do this in other venues.
Agreed, unfortunately I didn’t know about this, but it was pretty cool! I saw many people filling their bottles, especially with the unseasonal humidity and heat
People talk a lot about climate change and saving the planet, but they’re oblivious to turning off a light when they leave a room. So, I have trouble believing that people are really that concerned about plastic waste that they’ll bring a bottle to a venue unless it is already in their bag.
I never understand why and how politicians who never ran a business in their life keep telling private businesses how to run theirs. Coming from Shaun Abreu our good old socialist friend, I am not surprised. I would assume he has bigger issues to solved north of 96th no?
Pardon my cynicism, but I suspect the primary reason this proposal will be opposed by the venues is that they stand to lose lots of money from the sales of overpriced bottles of water. Maybe someday you’ll be able to go to a movie without having to hide a candy bar.
These venues are businesses, the sole purpose of business is to make money. Show business is a business first and foremost. Without the business, there is no show. Profit is not a dirty word.
This is a great step towards reducing plastic pollution. Let’s move on to airports and train stations as they do in California. Businesses will just have to adapt by selling drinks dispensed from large containers. Stadiums can install refill friendly water fountains. Look for green byo container decals in the windows of shops on Broadway from 96 to 112. More to come. See where at itseasybeinggreen.org.Thanks Shaun for being part of the solution to plastic pollution.