The fumes from idling taxicabs and delivery trucks can be so bad outside city schools that teachers race to close their classroom windows at certain times of the day.
A new city law seeks to cut that pollution by giving vehicles just 60 seconds to idle in a school zone.
The measure, signed into law this month, cuts the allowed idling time from three minutes to one minute around schools, and gives more city agencies the power to issue violations.
Councilman John Liu (D-Queens), lead sponsor of the bill, said the law is intended not only to reduce pollution in school areas, but to improve public awareness about the dangers of idling throughout New York City.
Fines range from $220 to $2,000 for repeat offenders.
A city official testified in 2003 that just 325 idling violations had been issued the previous year. In 2007, there were just 526, and all but 10 of those were for diesel-fueled vehicles, meaning that there had been very little enforcement of passenger-car idling.