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The Bronx: Sheriff’s taskforce hits smoke shops in 50, 52 precincts

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Riverdale Press

The New York City sheriff’s office touched down in northwest Bronx Monday to conduct inspections at storefronts suspected of selling untaxed cigarettes and cannabis products without a state license.

Six people were arrested and charged with criminal possession of cannabis across four locations in the 50th and 52nd precincts during the operations, a sheriff’s spokesperson told The Riverdale Press.

Deputy sheriffs issued $171,825 in civil penalties to the four Bronx businesses during the day’s operations and seized 119 pounds of edibles, 10 pounds of cannabis flower, and 2 pounds of pre-rolls, plus other contraband tobacco and vape products.

State lawmakers legalized adult recreational use and possession of up to three ounces of cannabis flower or 25 grams of concentrate two years ago, but possession of five or more pounds of cannabis flower or two pounds of concentrate remains a class E felony in the state’s cannabis law.

Monday’s operations bring the total number of people arrested in smoke shop inspections to 42 since the sheriff began conducting them citywide last November.

It’s the first enforcement activity the special task force has conducted in the northernmost reaches of the Bronx in its six-month existence.

New smoke shops have appeared at a dizzying pace in Kingsbridge and Riverdale in the intervening months, hawking their wares in the open. Products sold in the unlicensed shops are not regulated by the state Office of Cannabis Management and may be improperly labeled or contain dangerous additives, the office warns.

All of the businesses targeted in Monday’s inspections were located near schools and churches, a further violation of the state’s cannabis law.

A fifth location passed the sheriff’s inspection and received no violations, the task force spokesperson said.

Marijuana convictions have plummeted in New York City in the two years since lawmakers passed the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act.

There were 179 marijuana arrests in New York City last year, according to data reported quarterly by the NYPD. 49 of them were in the Bronx.

The 50th Precinct saw 4 marijuana arrests in 2022 and the 52nd Precinct saw 8.

The situation poses a puzzle to state lawmakers, who have considered a number of new measures that would strengthen enforcement activity as New York’s legal cannabis market slowly gains steam. Proposed legislation brought by Governor Kathy Hochul in March would give additional powers to the Office of Cannabis Management and the state tax office, and would allow illegal vendors to be fined more than $10,000 per day for breaking the law.

New York City deputy sheriffs seized contraband products, issued civil penalties, and arrested the operators of four Bronx businesses for criminal possession of cannabis and possession of untaxed cigarettes Monday:

• Riverdale Smoke Shop, doing business as Riverdale Best Grocery Corp. – 5979 Broadway, Bronx, NY (390 feet from Atmosphere Academy)

• King Store Deli, doing business as King Store 1 Corp. – 117 W. Kingsbridge Rd., Bronx, NY (0.3 miles from P.S. 86X)

• King Fellas Convenience Store, doing business as King Fellas Corp. – 237 W. 231st St., Bronx, NY (0.1 mile from Amber Charter School)

• Take a Bite Day & Night Deli & Grocery, doing business as Take AB Deli & Grocer – 34 Bedford Park, Bronx, NY (0.1 mile from St. Samuel Church)

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Sean Hocking

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