Assemblymember John Zaccaro, Jr. Applauds Crack Down on Illicit Smoke Shops

New York City Sheriff Office conducted several targeted inspections in the Bronx resulting in multiple locations being sealed 

Assemblymember John Zaccaro, Jr., praised the work of the New York City Sheriff Office who conducted targeted inspections in May at multiple locations within the 80thAssembly District of the Bronx.  

A total of eight locations within the 49th precinct and 52nd precinct confines were inspected and sealed shut by the New York City Sheriff Office, two of which were located in the 80th AD: 

• Cloudy Cloud Varieties Corp – 2141 White Plains Rd 

• Barnes Convenience Store Inc – 800 Allerton Ave 

“This action by the NYC Sheriff’s Office and OCM is a direct result of the new enforcement powers that we fought hard to include in the final State Budget,” said Assemblymember John Zaccaro, Jr. “I’m proud of the work these brave men and women do every day to keep our communities safe as New York continues our fight against illegal smoke shop operators who have inundated our neighborhoods.”

In addition to these targeted inspections, New York State Police, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) raided a number of businesses suspected of peddling illegal cannabis in the 80th AD on, June 13, 2024.  One of these inspections took place on Williamsbridge Road, directly across the street from the office of Assemblymember Zaccaro, Jr. Another inspection took place at Mystery, located at 711 Lydig Ave.—both locations did not find any illegal cannabis. Three other locations were also included in yesterday’s raid which did result in actionable offenses: 

• Infront of 711 Lydig: A table outside was removed, and illicit cannabis was seized.
• BX Puffs – 690 Allerton Rd: Product was seized, and the gate was shut.
• Infront of 690 Allerton Rd: A weed truck was hit with parking summonses, illicit cannabis was seized, and the truck was towed back to the precinct.

The Assemblymember's office is still collecting information from the agencies and plans to provide the community with additional details in the days to come.

As part of the 2024-2025 state budget the legislature passed sweeping new enforcement powers to combat illegal cannabis. These illegal stores have faced minimal consequences for their actions, resulting in decreased quality of life for surrounding communities. 

Among the new enforcement powers passed in the budget, New York now has the ability to revoke or suspend cigarette, alcohol and lottery licenses of stores found selling cannabis without a license. This policy was first proposed by Assemblymember John Zaccaro, Jr., in bill A9520 and gained significant bipartisan support in the Assembly

Additional new enforcement powers include:

• The Office of Cannabis Management may issue an immediate order to seal with an immediate effective date if such order is based upon a finding by the office of an imminent threat to public health, safety and welfare.
• The Office of the City Sheriff shall have the authority to conduct regularity inspections of any place of business, including a vehicle used as a business, where cannabis, cannabis products, or any products marketed or labeled as such, or sold, or offered to be sold, where no registration, license, or permit has been issued pursuant to cannabis law.
• Require that a landlord or owner make an application for the removal of a commercial tenant involving the unlicensed sale of cannabis or products marketed for labeled as such.
• If the landlord or owner does not make such application in five days or does not act in good faith to make application an enforcement agency is authorized to bring a petition and impose a civil penalty on the respondent not exceeding five times the rent charged or a civil penalty of $50,000 if in New York City.
• Increased civil penalties for refusal to allow a regulatory inspection of up to $8,000 for a first refusal and up to $15,000 for a second or subsequent refusal within three years of a prior refusal.
• Include within Obstructing Governmental Administration law with intent to violate a closing order, order to seal, or temporary order to seal issued by a governmental entity to address a public health or safety concern, a person damages or removes any padlock or other device.

The new enforcement powers are already yielding serious, long-term financial consequences for business that blatantly circumvent the law and will break this ongoing cycle of criminality.