Authorities have impounded a converted school bus called the “Green Empress” that allegedly operated as an illegal mobile smoke shop in Sunnyside and sold cannabis products marketed toward children, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said on Friday.
Prosecutors said the business sold unregulated cannabis products with names including “Skittles,” “Gummy Sharks,” “Jolly Ranchers” and “Stoney Patch Kids” on the corner of Queens Boulevard and 43rd Street. Undercover detectives from the DA’s office bought goods from the bus on several occasions, and on June 12, local law enforcement seized products containing at least two pounds of cannabis during the execution of a search warrant, according to Katz.
The business’ owner, 62-year-old Brooklyn resident Anthony Stevens, now faces multiple charges, including unlawful sale and possession of cannabis, prosecutors said. Stevens, who could not immediately be reached for comment, was issued a desk appearance ticket and ordered to return to court on July 2, per Katz’s office.
Green Empress is the latest marijuana vendor to be shut down by authorities as state and city officials seek to crack down on illegal smoke shops in New York. Although the state legalized recreational marijuana use by adults in 2021, unlicensed smoke shops have existed for much longer, flouting taxes and other regulations while raising public health and safety concerns.
“You cannot operate a cannabis dispensary that is unregulated and marketed toward our children,” Katz said in a statement. “Unlicensed marijuana sellers have become the subject of numerous community complaints because the unregulated product is often targeted to young people and has actually sickened customers.”
Despite the uptick in enforcement, illicit weed shops continue to crop up in some parts of New York City, according to a recent survey conducted by Councilmember Gale Brewer’s office. But this spring, Mayor Eric Adams launched a program that allows officials to padlock stores suspected of illegally selling cannabis on the first inspection, without first obtaining a court order.
The program, which currently faces a class-action lawsuit from dozens of businesses who claim they were improperly shut down, closed more than 300 stores between May 7 and June 3, according to the city. Katz’s office said that in Queens, 79 businesses have been padlocked as of May, and more than 280 people have been prosecuted for felonies related to the sale or possession of cannabis and other controlled substances since November 2022.
There are 14 licensed recreational cannabis dispensaries in Queens, out of more than 130 statewide, according to the DA’s office.
