On Thursday, December 30, 2022 several smoke shops were raided in Hell’s Kitchen. Police left one store with several clear bags and loaded a police van. Stores that were not raided quickly closed for the evening.
The City reported on New York City Patch.com:
On Thursday evening, about two and a half hours after the Housing Works store opened its doors, a journalist with THE CITY happened to see city Sheriff’s officers, accompanied by NYPD officers, raiding a store on Ninth Avenue off 45th Street and leaving with trash bags full of merchandise.
The Sheriff’s Office, which operates as the enforcement arm of the city’s Department of Finance, has been at the forefront of the city’s limited enforcement efforts. The NYPD has taken the position that it is not allowed to enforce licensing violations from stores openly advertising their wares unless they directly witness a sale.
On Friday morning, New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda sent a statement saying that “The Sheriff’s Office in partnership with OCM and NYPD continues to conduct inspections of illegal operations seizing all illegal and unlicensed products. These locations continue to present a public health and safety problem for our communities.”
These photos were taken along Ninth Avenue Thursday night, December 30, 2022 by ManhattanReal EstateTracker.com.