State pols want to ban helium-filled balloon releases
These state lawmakers are looking to burst your bubble.
Several pols are trying to ban the release of helium-filled balloons at everything from weddings to kindergarten graduations — arguing the celebrations are bad for the environment.
A bill introduced earlier this month by state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-The Bronx) would make it illegal for anyone to “release or intentionally cause to be released” more than 25 standard latex balloons within a 24-hour period.
And the release of even one foil-covered Mylar balloon would be outlawed, too.
Biaggi said the remnants of burst latex balloons “infiltrate ecosystems,” killing birds and other animals that mistake them for food or get tangled in their ribbons, while “electrically conducive’’ Mylar balloons cause blackouts if they hit power lines.
Biaggi said her bill “has not received any opposition, which is a good sign that both legislative members and constituents are open to making this change in favor of protecting our planet.”
A companion bill was sponsored in the state Assembly by Suffolk County Democrat Steve Englebright in February,
Still, the proposals don’t spell out any fines or other penalties for offenders — meaning they amount to little more than hot air.
Englebright, chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, told The Post he opted against including penalties because he wanted “to use a gentle approach … at the outset.”
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But competing legislation introduced in January by state Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) and mainly targeting businesses includes fines of $10 per balloon over 25, up to a maximum $50,000.
At the Party City store on Manhattan’s West 14th Street, supervisor Kimberly Martinez said customers routinely “come in and order 200 to 300 balloons” but aren’t asked what they plan to do with them.
Martinez said that while a ban could potentially hurt business, “I feel like people will still buy balloons and release them regardless.
“No one really actually follows the law the way they are supposed to,” she said.
At least five states — California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia — already bar balloon releases
A ban was also signed into law last month by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a moderate Democrat who’s close to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and is considered a bellwether on controversial issues.
A Cuomo spokesman would only say, “We’ll review the legislation.”
Additional reporting by Rachel Green and Bruce Golding
