Upper East Side, Midtown Illegal Pot Store Owner Coughs Up $420K: DA

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — These illegal pot shops are paying up $420,000 for their illicit greens.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday that an investigation into 11 illegal cannabis stores, including one on Lexington Avenue and East 77th Street and two in Midtown, has concluded with the owner agreeing to, somewhat ironically, pay $420,000 in a non-prosecution agreement.

“Cannabis legalization in New York State was designed to advance racial equity and fairness, and the rules must be followed. Public safety is also harmed when there is such a huge proliferation of unlicensed and unregulated storefronts selling cannabis products that have not been properly inspected," said District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

"We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate illegal cannabis stores, while simultaneously engaging with landlords to alert them of their options so they can initiate eviction proceedings on their own and independently of the Office," Bragg said.

Rami Alzandani, whose stores also peppered the Upper West Side, SoHo and one in Ridgewood, Queens, was ordered to pay over $100,000 to the state's Department of Tax and Finances and forfeit an additional $300,000 in illegal proceeds as part of the settlement agreement, prosecutors said.

Additionally, four of the stores, including Midtown's On The Rocks Convenience on West 48th Street near Sixth Avenue, pled guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of Cannabis, and were sentenced to a conditional discharge and another $5,000 fine.

While Alzandani's shops weren't evicted nor ordered to close, they were expressly banned from selling cannabis products and will be subject to surprise inspections over the next three years.

Prosecutors said this case was instigated by a series of undercover purchases by their office, and was just one in a larger strategy to target owners and corporations that operate multiple illegal pot shops.

Bragg's office added that they are currently targeting a preliminary group of 50 stores and engaging with landlords to evict shops selling pot illegally.

Back in May, Julie Menin closed two Upper East Side illegal pot shops in Yorkville — one of which was steps from a school.

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 are just five legal recreational cannabis stores in Manhattan as of July 18.

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