Council Member Gale Brewer’s office
An Upper West Side smoke shop has been shut down after The Sheriff’s Office discovered a secret trap door revealing an illegal marijuana sales operation. The discovery was made as part of a 14-store inspection on Wednesday, August 8 by Sheriff Anthony Miranda and his team.
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Pix11 reported on the Wednesday inspections, describing the secret door at Zootiez at 447 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 81st and 82nd streets) as leading “to an entire apartment filled with illegal marijuana products. Someone would sit just inside the door all day to pass on the illegal goods.” The Sheriff’s Office found an adjoining utility room and a flophouse flooded from the recent rainstorms.
Council Member Gale Brewer conducted a walkthrough of the space on Wednesday and posted her summary on X.
“Hidden door leads to makeshift processing & living areas. Bad on many levels: unhealthy, unsafe, obviously illegal. Good looking storefront but that’s not what we found underneath. The store opened 2 years ago. Buy legal,” she wrote and shared photos of the space.
Inspection at 477 Amsterdam w/ @NYCMayorsOffice
& @NYCSHERIFF. Hidden door leads to makeshift processing & living areas. Bad on may levels: unhealthy, unsafe, obviously illegal. Good looking storefront but that’s not what we found underneath. Store opened 2 years ago. Buy legal. pic.twitter.com/GmsUtNqcOd— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) August 8, 2024
“You walk in, it’s very elaborate… It looked fancy. It’s a very large space,” Brewer told ILTUWS. “Then we ducked under the counter to go into the back. Oh my goodness. The back room looked like a hurricane had hit it…water everywhere. There was a cat in there, and cat food, then all this product just all over the place. It looked like a mess.”
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Brewer continued, “In the corner was a trap door, a cubby hole, connected to an alleyway…They would pass the product through the trap door to the store. It was very messy and very unhealthy. This was much bigger than anything I’d seen… particularly egregious. I wouldn’t want anybody to have this product.”
Zootiez is just one of many shutdowns resulting from New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ “Operation Padlock to Protect,” whose goal is to bring illegal cannabis stores to justice.
Council Member Gale Brewer’s office
In a July 31 speech, Governor Kathy Hochul said of the Padlock operation: “We’re finally shutting down the illegal cannabis shops that have taunted us, taunted our neighborhoods, and finally bringing back vitality to our neighborhoods. I want to thank the people who helped us get here.” Though the operation has had an undeniable impact and shuttered over 750 illegal cannabis shops since launch, its tactics have been met with both praise and criticism.
Council Member Brewer has been particularly staunch about cracking down on unlicensed cannabis shops, which have been popping up around the city and the UWS at an alarming rate. She most recently padlocked another UWS location, Vape and Dispensary, at 2442 Broadway in April.
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“I’ve known Gale Brewer for over a decade. I don’t know that we’ve had a conversation the last two years without her bringing up – you’ve got to shut down the cannabis shops,” Governor Hochul said, praising Council Member Brewer’s commitment to the cause.
“There are only two legal shops on the Upper West Side. One on 66th Street and one on 72nd Street” Brewer reminded us. “Look for a real New York State insignia.”
Here’s some more info about the shops on 66th Street and 72nd Street. Another one is expected to open on 82nd Street, too.
According to this spreadsheet compiled by Brewer’s office, there are 55 Upper West Side stores selling marijuana illegally. The upward trend is very visible, as there were “only” 26 illicit weed retailers after the Council Member’s initial survey in December 2022.
You can report any suspected illegal cannabis activity online or by emailing smokeshopcomplaints@sheriff.nyc.gov.
The storefront is ****ing hideous.