Closed Y Town Convenience & Tobacco store on Commerce Street, Yorktown
By Dan Murphy
The Yorktown Town Board quickly passed a six-month moratorium on new stores selling tobacco after a Cigar-candy store was found to be selling marijuana and untaxed cigarettes to minors. Deputy Town Supervisor Edward Lachterman explained, “This is precipitated by a smoke and candy shop that opened next to Starbucks. Our police, doing great police work, went in and did some undercover operations, only to find out that they were selling marijuana, and selling to underage patrons.”
The store that was closed, which was not identified by the Town or the Yorktown Police Department, is Y Town Convenience & Tobacco, located at 1920-1926 Commerce Street. Outside of the store is an Unlawful to Occupy notice from the Town Building Inspector James Landi, based on the illegal sale of cannabis. The violation is dated January 25, 2024.
The Town of Yorktown has “opted-out” of the NYS law allowing marijuana dispensaries and cafes, so it was illegal for Y Town Convenience & Tobacco to be selling marijuana to anyone.
Lachterman said that the state’s Office of Cannabis Management has only 16 investigators for the entire state of New York, and it is responsible for enforcing the law that legalized recreational marijuana sales. However, the smoke shop in question was found to have been breaking the terms of the special use permit that had been issued by Yorktown and as a result the town was able to pull that permit to operate in the town.
“Our police did have to wait for the state taxation people to come in only to find out they were selling cigarettes and other items that were not properly purchased and taxed through the New York state system. They did not have New York state tax stamps on them. I think it’s a shame that we weren’t able to do it (close the store) based on that they were selling drugs to our children,” said Lachterman.
The six-month moratorium affects new shops opening that sell tobacco or vaping products. The moratorium gives officials time to decide whether and how to prevent the clustering of smoke shops in certain areas. It also is intended to provide time for them to decide what if any steps may be needed to make sure that smoking and vaping products are not being illegally sold to minors and that shops are not selling cannabis products without a state license and in violation of Yorktown’s decision not to allow such sales.
“The New York State Office of Cannabis Management is woefully understaffed, making regulation of these stores very difficult,” said Yorktown Police Chief Robert Noble. “During my law enforcement career in the Town of Yorktown, each ‘smoke shop’ has proven to be problematic, in that they tend to market and sell their products to minors. I am hoping that this moratorium is the precursor to meaningful local legislation, and I am proud of the work that my YPD (Yorktown Police Department) team continues to do every day.”
Directly across the street from Starbucks and the now closed Y Town Convenience and Tobacco is Cigar Works, which sells vape products and pipes and bongs.
Sources at the NYS Office of Cannabis Management confirmed that they are understaffed, and that it is within the legal purview of the Yorktown Police to enforce the law regarding illegal tobacco and marijuana sales. Illegal tobacco sales are not governed by the NYS OCM.
The store’s location, next to a Starbuck’s, where many young adults get their drinks in town, and closure were welcome news to patrons we spoke to. “To be selling marijuana, but also cigarettes to underage kids is wrong,” said one Starbucks customer. “And they also weren’t selling cigarettes that are properly taxed in New York makes it worse.”
