New York City officials are planning on extending the city's smoking ban from restaurants and bars to the outdoors.

The new ban would cover 1,700 city parks and 14 miles of public beach. Smoking on sidewalks will still be allowed.

"When New Yorkers and visitors to our city go to the parks and beaches for fresh air, there will actually be fresh air for them to breathe," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference.

New Yorkers have had mixed reactions to policy. Some feel like it will trick smokers into getting ticketed, while others say the ban is a good idea.

"There's a lot of secondhand smoke, and I think at a boardwalk where there's a lot of families and young kids…it's a good idea," one resident said.

The new smoking proposal is being called one of the most ambitious outdoor anti-tobacco efforts in the nation.
    
The bill still has to go through committee hearings before it can be decided by voters.