By Jessica Meditz
jmeditz@queensledger.com
Paladino joined NYPD officers to raid two Whitestone smoke shops last week, Photo via @VickieforNYC, Twitter)
Two smoke shops in Whitestone were busted for selling to underaged children, marijuana products while unlicensed, along with illegal substances, the local councilwoman reported on social media.
Vickie Paladino, a Republican representing District 19, shared a video to Twitter saying she worked alongside Mayor Eric Adams’ office and New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda to raid the troublesome joints in the community.
The two smoke shops, Izzy Convenience Shop at 14-05 Parsons Boulevard and Stoney Smoke Shop at 14-03 150th Street got “cleaned out,” according to Paladino, and cops confiscated products that included cannabis and hallucinatory mushrooms
In another tweet, she claimed that these stores were “centers of gang and illegal activity,” as well as the subject of numerous community complaints.
“I look forward to many, many more…my eyes are everywhere; my feet go everywhere,” Paladino said.
She thanked everyone involved in the feat including the sheriff, his officers and Deputy Mayor Phil Banks, and assured her followers that there’d be “more to come.”
“Great news: we killed two shops. They’ll be open, probably, tomorrow, but for now, they were emptied out,” she said upon concluding the video.
New York State first legalized recreational marijuana use in 2021, and the first legal dispensaries opened up in the city over the course of the last month.
It is still illegal to sell marijuana products without a license.
