NYC Will Require Retail Landlords To Evict Illegal Smoke Shops
New York City is planning to force evictions of storefront tenants illegally selling marijuana, Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
Manhattan stores selling cannabis without a license will face eviction in addition to fines of up to $5K and the confiscation of their products.
Bragg's office has already sent out letters to more than 400 smoke shops operating illegally in the borough, according to a release. In the coming weeks, the DA's office said it will begin to notify landlords that they are required to begin eviction proceedings — and may even file its own eviction notices against tenants if landlords don’t act within five days.
“If owners and landlords fail to initiate timely eviction proceedings against these commercial tenants that are in violation of the law or fail to prosecute those proceedings diligently, my office is prepared to take over and pursue eviction proceedings,” Bragg said at a press conference.
The city on Tuesday also filed four lawsuits against smoke shops in the East Village for selling illegally and being a public nuisance, Crain's reported. The shops' landlords were also named as defendants.
NYC has awarded 66 retail cannabis licenses to stores so far, and Bragg’s office plans to prioritize evicting illegal shops operating close to licensed ones, Commercial Observer reported. So far, just two — Housing Works Cannabis Co. at 750 Broadway and Smacked at 144 Bleecker St. — have opened. In the meantime, more than 1,400 unlicensed stores are estimated to be selling cannabis in Manhattan alone, according to Borough President Mark Levine.
“You can’t just open a shop and sell marijuana,” Adams said. “There are rules, and we must abide by those rules in a real way.”
Threatening store leases is the city’s latest attempt to clamp down on illegal smoke shops. NYC launched a task force late last year that visited 53 stores over 11 days in late November and early December, but it has only inspected another 54 stores in the months since, The City reported. Both of the stores revisited by the task force had restocked with illegal cannabis between inspections.
While this latest attempt focuses on Manhattan alone, Adams said the borough plans to share the results of the program with other counties.
“We want to give New York’s legal cannabis market a fair chance to thrive,” Bragg said. “I hope to see full cooperation from building owners and commercial landlords as we pursue this education and criminal enforcement strategy.”
