Assembly Member John Zaccaro, Jr. Joins New York City Sheriff's Department To Investigate Illegal Smoke Shops

 

Working closely with city and state agencies and law enforcement partners, coalition targets illegal sale of cannabis in New York City

Assembly Member John Zaccaro, Jr., (D-AD 80) in coordination with the New York County Sheriff’s Department, conducted targeted inspections yesterday on smoke shops to combat the proliferation of unlicensed and unregulated sale of tobacco and cannabis in the Allerton section of The Bronx. 

The New York County Sheriff’s Department investigated multiple locations. At least three of these locations were found to have been in violation of the law, as follows: 649 Allerton Avenue (200 Healthy Deli Corp), 686-688 Allerton Ave (BX Convenience & Smoke Store Corp), and 800 Allerton Avenue (Allerton Ave Smoke Shop Inc). 

Investigations into these businesses yielded the following:

- Two (2) arrests

- Four (4) C-Summons

- Six (6) Notice of Violations with 32 violations and 196 counts of violations 

- Estimated $223,700 in penalties 

- 14.5 Cartons of untaxed cigarettes

- 3,392 packages of other tobacco products

- 1,824 flavored vape products

- 190 THC Vapes

- 2,009 packages of THC flowers weighing a total of 39.38lbs

- 1,750 THC pre-rolls weighing a total of 4.44 lbs

- 367 packages of THC edibles weighing a total of 38.6lbs

“Today is a reckoning for those who have chosen to circumvent the law and target our most vulnerable citizens and children by acquiring and selling cannabis and tobacco products illegally," said Assembly Member John Zaccaro, Jr. “I am proud to partner with the New York County Sheriff’s Department and be at the forefront of a broader effort to curb the sale of illegal tobacco and cannabis products.”

Sheriff Anthony Miranda said, “The Sheriff’s office will continue to work collaboratively with other city agencies to combat the proliferation of unlicensed smoke shops in New York City. Community safety and public health are our top priority.”

The raids conducted by the Sheriff’s Department are part of a larger, ongoing community-based mission working in conjunction with the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), as well as numerous City and State agencies to crack down on smoke shops that are selling cannabis and tobacco products without a state-issued license. Smoke shops found to be in possession of and selling of illegal cannabis and tobacco products face stiff fines, forfeiture of the illegally obtained products, and revocation of any current or pending licenses, among other penalties. 

John Zaccaro, Jr., represents the 80th Assembly District which encompasses Allerton, Indian Village, Little Yemen, Morris Park, Norwood, Pelham Gardens, and Van Nest.