On 13th and A, corner markets come and go

On the SW corner of 13th Street and Avenue A, Essentials Marketplace seemingly came out of nowhere and is now up and running... offering the usual corner-market fare (beverages! snacks! candy!). 

Meanwhile, on the SE corner... you will have one less place to purchase bongs or exotic flavors of Doritos...

Law enforcement officials have sealed up ZEE Convenience & More...apparently, it was zee unlicensed sale of cannabis products here that got the business into trouble...

ZEE debuted in October 2022. Previously, Caffè Bene closed here in December 2021 after nearly six years in business.

What's next for the former smoke shop next to Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A?

Green World Convenience has been closed in recent months next to Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

We got some closure, so to speak, last week: The Marshal paid a visit on Oct. 1, and the landlord is now in legal possession of the space.

The unlicensed shop opened last fall, and was pretty promotional with sidewalk boards advertising flowers, edibles and pre-rolls. 

The business was, until May 2023, known as East Village New Deli. Then, in June 2023, it returned without the deli counter... only to close again and reopen as another exotic snack shop/weed shop. 

We have no idea what might be next... how about: Bring back Alphabets!

More unlicensed weed shops shuttered, and one return

With photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Law enforcement continues to crack down on unlicensed cannabis shops throughout NYC.

The most recent victims in the East Village include Smoke House at 44 Avenue A at Third Street. (Tough few weeks for them — they were also burglarized on July 29.)

The Villager Smoke Shop at 445 E. Ninth St. at Avenue A was also busted (next two photos via Steven)...

And there have been others, as local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera noted in an X post this past Thursday...

Unlicensed dispensaries do not comply with regulations meant to protect health + life, and some have been found to sell to minors and host other illegal activity. More locations in our community have been closed, and we encourage you to continue reporting locations to our office. pic.twitter.com/he5tF0aBCQ

— NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera (@CMCarlinaRivera) August 8, 2024

Still, despite the efforts of local law enforcement (under the New York City Sheriff's Joint Compliance Task Force), the fines, the restraining orders, etc., some places find a way to return. 

For instance, the Grab & Go Convenience at 23 Avenue B, which was shut down in May, returned as Camino.

Apparently they won their court case, bringing them back from the dead. This is the first time that we've seen a smoke shop come back from a sealed, multiagency court order. 

So: Open smoke shop. Bust. Reopen. Bust again. And again. Court-order seal. Slap a new business name on the space and reopen. Rinse. Repeat.

Buy Me Flowers pushes up daisies on 7th Street

Buy Me Flowers, an unlicensed cannabis dispensary, closed earlier this summer at 102 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The news of a closure isn't necessarily newsy, as smoke shops here and in other parts of NYC continue to open, close, reopen, rebrand, and close in a seemingly never-ending show of gamesmanship to stay ahead of crackdowns via law enforcement.

This was the first retail tenant for the space, which served as a residence for decades. 

As previously noted, Anthony Pisano lived in this converted storefront full of antiques and whimsical curiosities for nearly 40 years. He died in 2018 at age 86. Check out some interior pics from his home here.  

We have a feeling we'll be in for a series of schlocky concepts here in the years ahead in the building owned by Steve Croman. 

This smoke shop won't be reopening after an assault and robbery

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Several weeks ago, two smoke shops were robbed near Fourth Street and Avenue B — the Green Apple Smoke Shop, 240 E. Fourth St., and Best NY Smoke Shop at 46 Avenue B. 

The suspect allegedly assaulted the workers at both locations and has since been apprehended. Police sources tell us that the suspect had a gun, though it turned out to be fake. Per our sources, he was wanted for similar robberies in the Bronx and Uptown. 

Green Apple, one of the many unlicensed cannabis businesses to pop up in the past two years, never reopened after the attack. We're told the worker on duty was severely injured. 

The shop is now permanently closed. Yesterday, management started cleaning out the shop. We were invited inside to see the damage from the robbery...

The ongoing efforts to shutter unlicensed weed shops

Local law enforcement (under the New York City Sheriff's Joint Compliance Task Force) continues to crack down on unlicensed weed/smoke shops. 

For example, this past Thursday, authorities closed Smoke City Exotics at 166 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street...

...as well as the oft-busted storefront at 24 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street...

On May 7, Mayor Adams announced the launch of Operation Padlock to Protect "to hold illegal smoke and cannabis shops accountable." 

After the first week, City Hall said that they had closed and sealed 75 shops and issued nearly $6 million in penalties. (And in the first month, the closure tally passed the 300-store mark.) 

In the past, some businesses were back in operation a day or two later, or they used evasive tactics such as removing the signage and only opening late at night when ownership figured they were safe from raids. 

The Task Force closed Hi Society at 97 Second Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street on May 22. The shop, which had a velvet rope and doorman, was open the next day. The Task Force returned, and the shop has been shuttered ever since, with seven "seized" posters on the storefront.

Over the weekend, Colin Moynihan did a deep dive for the Times on the concern over the proliferation of unlicensed stores on the Lower East Side. The story includes local residents who "created a spreadsheet listing the locations of nearly three dozen unlicensed sellers, which they said they distributed to government officials, hoping to prompt enforcement." 

Some background from the article, which you can access here: 

Nearly 3,000 unlicensed cannabis stores are estimated to have opened across New York City since 2021, when a state bill was passed legalizing recreational marijuana and allowing for the distribution of retail cannabis licenses. There are 132 licensed adult-use dispensaries across the state, according to the Office of Cannabis Management, with 62 in the city. 

... and... 

... the rollout of the licensed shops has stumbled, tripped up by lawsuits, bureaucratic delays and a lack of financial assistance for retailers. At one point, policymakers promised to provide turnkey storefronts for new business owners. Those promises never came through. 

The article quotes Jeffrey Hoffman, a cannabis lawyer and legalization advocate who supports closing the unlicensed shops. Given their numbers and the clandestine actions of some of the operators, he predicted it would take months or longer to shut down all the unlicensed shops.

Meanwhile, what will happen to all the storefronts that landlords previously leased to illegal cannabis businesses? 

-----

Credit:

Photos 1 & 3 — Salim

Photo 2 — Steven

Photos 4 & 5 — EVG

Busted & shuttered at the Grab & Go on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

A multi-agency raid took place today at several unlicensed cannabis shops in the East Village, including Grab & Go, 23 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street.

We're told that this is the second bust this month at Grab & Go.

What was different this time: the officers sealed the premises and disconnected the gate afterward. 

"We're probably not reopening, but you might see us around the neighborhood," a store employee told us. "We'd miss our regulars." 

Law enforcement officials at the scene declined to comment.

Grab & Go opened late last year. 

As previously reported, a city law enacted last August holds commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed cannabis shops.

Introduction 1001-B, known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, imposing fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations.

Updated. 

Other busts today include at Hi Society, 97 Second Ave. ... and the one at 213 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. (H/T William Klayer and Steven.)

A reader shared this from Hi Society, asking Bye Society?

A smoke and vape shop for the former Gaia Italian Café on 3rd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

A smoke shop recently debuted at 226 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C ... serving a variety of pre-rolls, edibles and other smoking-related products...

For every unlicensed shop that closes, another one seems to pop up in the neighborhood. (A new one recently opened on Avenue C between 11th Street and 12th Street.) 

No. 226 was previously home to Gaia Italian Café.

A smash & grab at the Grab & Go on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

It was more like Smash & Grab at the newish (and unlicensed) Grab & Go Convenience at 23 Avenue B. 

Last Sunday morning, someone smashed the front door here between Second Street and Third Street...

A store employee told me the thief stole some weed (mostly prerolls) and "not too much stuff" but was "caught already." 

Meanwhile, there's plywood treatment at the space, now with a rolldown gate in place as of Wednesday.

Signage alert: Kaliiva, a cannabis dispensary for Avenue B

Photo by Salim 

Signage arrived late last week for Kaliiva at 11 Avenue B between Houston and Second Street, the latest (currently unlicensed) cannabis dispensary for the neighborhood. (We mentioned this pending arrival on Dec. 19.) 

This will be the first NYC shop for the Washington, D.C.-based business offering "premium edibles, flower, vapes and pre-rolls."

Kaliiva takes over the storefront in this Steve Croman-owned building after the departure of Raul's Barber Shop, which held forth for six decades. Raul Velez Sr. decided to retire in 2022 at age 81 (and after a rent hike). His nephews opened a new spot at 256 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

Former illegal cannabis dispensary now for rent on 1st Avenue and 11th Street

For rent signs arrived this past week at the storefront on the SE corner of First Avenue and 11th Street. (H/T Steven.)

This had been the Recreational Plus Cannabis Dispensary, an illegal shop that had been busted several times. (A Restraining Order was visible inside the front window here at 180 First Ave.)

The business' Yelp page still notes, "Recreational Plus East Village is temporarily closed. Scheduled to reopen on January 1, 2024.") 

The signage arrived for Recreational Plus in October... it was later removed, though the shop remained in operation.

The previous retail tenant here was Eleven Consignment Boutique, which closed amid a legal battle in November 2019.

This building, with the dual Michael Jackson murals, is also for sale. 

The new smoke shops of lower Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Grab & Go Convenience is now open at 23 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street. 

It's a full-service smoke shop offering flower, cartridges, edibles, prerolls, lozenges/candies, etc. Plus, tobacco products. And, uh, sex toys. (We said full service!)

Meanwhile, a smoke shop is also in the works for 9-11 Avenue B, one block to the south... in space that was, for six decades, Raul's Barber Shop. 

These shops will compete with Green Line, which opened in late October at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street...

The 9-11 Avenue B and 42 Avenue B spaces are in buildings owned by Steve Croman.

Illegal cannabis dispensary seeing blue this morning

Photos by William Klayer 

A quick note via the EVG tipline... law enforcement officials were spotted inside the Recreational Plus Cannabis Dispensary on the SE corner of First Avenue and 11th Street. 

A Restraining Order is also posted on the front window here at 180 First Ave. (FYI: This building is also for sale.) 

From the street, the shop appears to be empty. (The business' Yelp page notes, "Recreational Plus East Village is temporarily closed. Scheduled to reopen on January 1, 2024.") 

The signage arrived for it back in October... it was later removed, though the shop remained in operation.

This happens to be one block north of Go Green Dispensary, where on Tuesday, local elected officials came together, spoke out against unlicensed cannabis shops in Lower Manhattan, and called on landlords to stop renting to these businesses.

Like Go Green Dispensary, this operation is close to multiple schools (East Side Community School and PS 19 East Village Community School) and the mosque on the NE corner of 11th Street and First Avenue.

Local elected officials call out landlords renting to unlicensed cannabis shops

Image via Harvey Epstein's office 

Local elected officials came together yesterday to speak out against unlicensed cannabis shops in Lower Manhattan and call on landlords to stop renting to these businesses. 

Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, Councilmember Carlina Rivera and Sen. Brian Kavanagh gathered with community members outside Go Green Dispensary on the SE corner of 10th Street and First Avenue. Officials pointed out that this dispensary is close to multiple schools (East Side Community School and PS 19 East Village Community School) and the mosque on 11th Street and First Avenue. 

According to officials, legal cannabis dispensaries — licensed by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management — are prohibited from operating within 500 feet of a school or 200 feet of a religious institution.

As of August, a new city law that holds commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed cannabis shops is in effect. 

Introduction 1001-B, known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, imposing fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations. 

During the rally, Epstein announced that he was sending letters to the landlords of 22 shops stating their renters were selling cannabis illegally and advising them of their responsibilities under the law and penalties for failure to comply.

"Unlicensed cannabis shops are a threat to consumers, the legal market, and our entire community,” Epstein said. “As a supporter of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, I believe that the sale of cannabis should be used as an instrument of social justice, allowing individuals who have suffered the impact of criminalization to enter the market legally and receive priority status when applying for their licenses. Unlicensed shops like these perilously undermine that goal while also evading safety requirements and taxes."

Representatives from Housing Works Cannabis Co., NYC's first legal dispensary that opened last December on Broadway at Eighth Street, were also present to talk about the negative impact these businesses have on the legal market.

"Currently operated illegal cannabis businesses are supported by multiple out-of-state and international investors. These investors can afford to pay the fines and renegotiate terms for retail space," said Anthony Feliciano, vice president of the advocacy department at Housing Works. "Additionally, landlords repeatedly allow their commercial storefronts to be re-opened by either the same tenant or a new renter after being seized by the sheriff's department. We need more administrative mechanisms and legislation designed to get the landlord's attention."

Everything's gone Green

We are behind in noting all (and there are a lot) the recent comings and goings with smoke shops, like which ones closed, which ones closed and reopened, and which ones closed and reopened under a new name.

The smoke shop opened up next to Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A near Seventh Street nearly a month ago, though the signage for Green World only just arrived.

The sidewalk board (pic from Oct. 31, before the new signage but with festive balloonage) shows items for sale including flowers, edibles and pre-rolls...

The business was, until May, known as East Village New Deli ... then they returned in June without the deli counter... only to close again and reopen as another exotic snack shop/weed shop. 

A bust at LA Convenience on Avenue A

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Last night around 9, a multi-agency raid took place at LA Convenience at 105 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

Officers confiscated a large quantity of products (labels included vapes/cartridges and edibles/candies) ... and left the smoke shop with more than 12 bags of items...

The shop, formerly LES Convenience, has been busted several times this year... and eventually reopens.

As previously reported, as of August, a new city law is now in effect that holds commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed cannabis shops. 

Introduction 1001-B, known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, imposing fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations. 

A cannabis dispensary is the first tenant for this newly created retail space on 7th Street

Signage is up now for Buy Me Flowers, a cannabis dispensary, at 102 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

This is the very first retail tenant for the space, which for decades served as a residence. 

This appears to be another unlicensed cannabis operation. (You can find a list of regulated, licensed dispensaries here.)

In August, the city put in place a new law to curb illegal stores: 

Introduction 1001-B, now known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, imposing fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations. 

Steve Croman is the building's landlord. (A smoke shop is also on the way in one of his retail spaces on Avenue B.)

As previously noted, Anthony Pisano lived in this converted storefront full of antiques and whimsical curiosities for nearly 40 years. He died in 2018 at age 86. Check out some interior pics from his home here.  

House of Munchies debuts on 1st Avenue

The former smoke shop at 111 First Ave. south of Seventh Street recently transformed into House of Munchies, a "420 friendly" establishment offering a variety of accessories and snacks ... similar to the ones offered at other smoke shops, including the one a storefront away on the corner. 

No. 111 was previously Village Smoke & Vape, and before that, 111 Convenience Store ... until late 2012, it was 111 Convenience Store, which sold newspapers and postcards out front... with a variety of Polish-language periodicals.

Smoke shop comings and goings

For those of you keeping track at home... NoHo Green Oasis is now open at 356 Bowery between Fourth Street and Great Jones.

The shop sells the usual — drinks, exotic snacks and smoking accessories. (No cannabis-related products.)

As far as we can recall, this storefront — directly next to the incoming 21-story office building — has been vacant for years. (Hecho en Dumbo was next door at No. 354.)

Meanwhile!

St. Marks Convenience & Smoke Shop at 103 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue has closed... for rent signs now hang on the storefront (thanks to Steven for the photo).

Among other things, the unlicensed shop sold cannabis-related items and had drawn the scrutiny of law enforcement officials...  who busted the business multiple times.

There are also new smoke shops on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue and Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Noted

Photo by Steven

Well then! Signage went up yesterday at 32 St. Mark's Place for a new business called Qik N E Z Convenience here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

Given the Weed Greens Color Scheme palette — North Texas Green (#059033), Dollar Bill (#93CB56), Palm Leaf (#7BAA47) and Mughal Green (#355A20) — we're going with a cannabis-related business for the storefront. 

Or maybe one that just sells smoking accessories and exotic snacks. 

Smoke shops pop up faster than they get busted or go out of business. (There are two other new smoke shops that we haven't even mentioned yet.) 

A new city law recently went into effect that holds commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed cannabis shops. Introduction 1001-B, known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, imposing fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations. 

This small storefront was most recently Suki Japanese Kitchen, which closed earlier in the summer.