Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
This afternoon, around 2, officers from the NYPD and the Sheriff's Office — including members of the Criminal Investigation Division — arrived to "inspect" Green Line at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.
This unlicensed smoke shop has been the subject of repeated enforcement visits — this was the third since April. (Here and here.) And Green Line always reopens.
According to the posted notices, officials seized cannabis flower, pre-rolls, vapes, flavored vapes, carts, THC edibles, untaxed/unlicensed cigarettes, and "other tobacco products."
The summons cites the sale of unlicensed and untested/not-lawfully labeled cannabis, along with the shop's proximity to a school, house of worship or youth facility.
One ticket was issued to a worker — an unusual step, as summonses typically go to the business owner — for the criminal sale of untaxed cigarettes.
"The cop was real mad and said I lied to him, and so he gave me a ticket," the worker told me. "I told him I don't have the [business] keys, and he made me empty my pockets and took the keys from me. He wrote me a ticket and I'mma fight it in court."
The same worker said he was present during at least one of the previous busts. When asked whether he'd be back if they reopened tomorrow, he said: "They may reopen, but I won't be there tomorrow. This same thing happened at the last few shops I worked at. It's not fair, I need to support and feed my family."
As for whether this closure will stick, one officer on the scene said, "We don't know, sometimes they open right back up again." Another added: "We'll be back if they do."
This seems to be happening all over the LES/EV as the legalization of marijuana and regulations concerning these smoke shops has been handled so dysfunctionally by the NYS government in Albany.
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