State Assemblyman Peter Rivera joined the principal and students of P.S. 36 Monday to announce a new asthma-free zone.

In an effort to keep incidents of asthma down at P.S. 36, signs are now posted outside the school urging drivers not to idle and asking people not to smoke. The students will also participate in asthma education workshops, which parents have access to.

According to the principal, parents often take their children to emergency rooms during an attack, but rarely get information about how to prevent such attacks or how to recognize asthma triggers. Educators believe too many children are spending time dealing with the relatively manageable problem rather than in the classroom.

One out of three people who have asthma don't know it, according to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.