Julie Menin Takes Dead Aim At Tale Of Two Yorkville Smoke Shops

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — These Yorkville pot shops are up in smoke.

City Council Member Julie Menin announced a crackdown on illegal smoke shops across District 5, her office said Tuesday.

The increased enforcement started with two illegal Yorkville smoke shops recently handed dozens of violations from inspections ordered after Menin's office said they had received numerous complaints about illegal smoke shops.

"We will continue to ensure that bad actors violating our laws face consequences for their actions. I will work with my Council colleagues to pass legislation that requires the City to create a public awareness campaign on the dangers of purchasing cannabis products from unlicensed retailers," Menin said.

Working with the Mayor Adams’ Joint Compliance Task Force, Menin said it's hammer time for shops selling illegal marijuana goods.

One shop, Yorkville Convenience on York Avenue and East 77th Street — just across the street from Yorkville East Middle School and the Bayard Taylor School — racked up over 50 violations, including for selling unlicensed products and for visibly advertising and displaying smoking and tobacco products within 500 feet of a school.

The other shop, Sweetooth bakery at First Avenue and East 87th Street, near St. Joseph's Academy, was issued eight violations by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection — a department Menin led from 2014-2016 — for selling unlicensed products, failure to post conspicuous signs and the sale of flavored vape products.

DCWP commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga applauded Menin's efforts, and thanked both the mayor and New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda for "leading the way to protect the health and safety of our communities," Mayuga said. "We will not hesitate to hold unlicensed tobacco and e-cigarette retailers accountable for breaking the law.”

New York City began selling legal recreational marijuana in the final days of 2022, starting with a dispensary operated by Housing Works — the nation's largest minority-controlled HIV/AIDS service organization — in Greenwich Village.

While hundreds of unlicensed smoke shops have popped up over the city recently, there were just four licensed recreational dispensaries as of April 11.

That number could rise — nearly 100 new dispensaries were approved last month by the New York Office of Cannabis Management.