Mayor Eric Adams launches initiative to shut down unlicensed smoke shops in NYC

NEW YORK (WABC) — Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday his administration has launched an initiative to crack down on illegal smoke shops across all five boroughs of the city.

Adams said the “Operation Padlock to Protect” plan will accelerate over the coming weeks.

It comes after the mayor advocated for municipalities to get authority from the state to shut down the illegal shops and the city established formal rules. Those rules include allowing the New York City sheriff’s office, along with other local law enforcement agencies, to padlock the illegal shops.

“Today, our administration is delivering on a promise to shut down unlicensed smoke and cannabis shops, protect our young people, and ensure that the future of legal cannabis burns bright in New York City,” said Mayor Adams. “Thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul and our partners in the state Legislature, New York City is now using the full force of the law across every borough to padlock and protect our streets. Legal cannabis remains the right choice for our city, but to those who choose to break the law – we will shut you down.”

New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda said he executed 20 search warrants on Tuesday.

At New City Smoke Shop, Miranda said all the products for sale were illegal — including mushrooms, cannabis, pre-rolled joints, illegal cigarettes and other products.

Adams said the city was able to shut down smoke shops Tuesday because of new law enforcement powers in the state budget, but added legislators can go further.

“We gained the power under this budget, let’s be clear, the power is not ideal,” Adams said. “We would like ideally for police to do an analysis in each precinct, zero in on the shops in their precinct, we don’t have that unfettered and use by the police department, they have to be deputized by sheriff, they have to put a couple teams in place and then after you close down the shop, there is a process that allows them to reopen after a certain period of time. There are a lot of layers to this.”

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