Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Where There's Smoke, There's A Basement Full of Pot Plants
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 21, 2010
Modified Oct 21, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 21, 2010
Modified Oct 21, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On Monday night some well-meaning Lower East Side citizen called the FDNY to report smoke coming from a building on Rivington. But there was no fire, just steam leaking from a faulty boiler. And when firefighters searched the basement looking for the source of the problem, they came along a sizable stash of marijuana plants. A tipster told Bowery Boogie all about the bust, and the FDNY has confirmed to us that they found the marijuana in the basement, and "a large hole in the ground" in the rear of the building.
Even worse, residents of 10 apartments were forced to evacuate (at 2 a.m.!) because there was no rear fire escape, and one of them turned himself over to police for the pot farm. For those keeping score, this isn't the first LES pot farm to get stumbled upon; in 2003 police followed a strong marijuana smell to an apartment that had sliding bookcases which concealed a marijuana farm. This one was located above a children's day care center, enabling the classic headline "Upstairs - Pot, Downstairs - Tot."
Tagged
fdny
Lower East Side
marijuana
rivington
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
Customers would have to be provided the option of speaking with a human.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 12:04 p.m. ET
Early Addition: There's a new hot duck, this time in Queens
Because a mandarin duck has been frolicking in Flushing, here are your early links: RHONY star racked up a lot of parking tickets, 57 best Italian restaurants in New Jersey, Judi Dench said the "Cats" movie was bad and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: There's a new hot duck, this time in Queens
Because a mandarin duck has been frolicking in Flushing, here are your early links: RHONY star racked up a lot of parking tickets, 57 best Italian restaurants in New Jersey, Judi Dench said the "Cats" movie was bad and more.
By
James Ramsay
NYPD hate crime unit investigates smashed windows, ‘Pal Action’ graffiti at UES Capital One
By
Ryan Kost
A reliably Republican part of NJ, until ICE came to town
By
Mike Hayes
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
By
Elizabeth Kim
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .