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As NYC cannabis enforcement ramps up, sheriff's office ushers in largest class of deputies
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Sep 17, 2024
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Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Sep 17, 2024
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The New York City sheriff is looking to bolster his office's ranks with new recruits as it grapples with high vacancies and takes on the challenge of shutting down thousands of unlicensed cannabis shops across the five boroughs.
The sheriff’s office is budgeted for 224 employees this fiscal year but has about a 40% vacancy rate, according to figures Sheriff Anthony Miranda shared on Tuesday at a City Council hearing on the city’s cannabis enforcement efforts. He said the most vacancies were among sheriff’s deputies, who are often assigned to raid unlicensed cannabis shops.
But the 90-person class of sheriff’s deputies that will start in October will be the largest in the office's history, Miranda said.
The city sheriff's office is unlike other sheriff's offices in that it serves as the enforcement arm of the Department of Finance and works on a range of civil law enforcement matters.
Miranda is leading a multiagency task force responsible for the cannabis enforcement efforts the city launched in May, known as Operation Padlock to Protect. The operation was created to take advantage of new state and city laws that expedite enforcement by allowing local officials to shut down unlicensed cannabis stores on the first inspection, without a court order.
About 180 city workers are assigned to the task force, including 30 employees from the sheriff’s office, 80 to 100 members of the NYPD and additional staff from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Miranda testified at the hearing.
The city has so far shut down more than 1,100 unlicensed stores in the first months of Operation Padlock to Protect, according to officials. But City Councilmember Gale Brewer said an estimated 2,600 unlicensed stores were still operating across the city, based on city data.
Councilmember Justin Brannan asked Miranda at the hearing whether he needed more funding to expand staffing further, given the amount of resources his office now dedicates to cannabis raids. The sheriff’s office also has other ongoing responsibilities, including serving orders of protection and cracking down on so-called “ghost cars” with fake license plates. The office has a nearly $49 million budget for fiscal year 2025, which includes about $29 million for personnel.
Miranda initially avoided asking councilmembers for more funding, but eventually acquiesced.
“To the extent you can help us and make sure we can get more headcount and more personnel, that would be fantastic,” he said.
But Miranda’s push for new recruits comes amid claims from the New York City Deputy Sheriffs' Association that employees have left the agency in droves under his leadership.
“He’s very disrespectful in the way he speaks to us,” said Ingrid Simonovic, the union’s president. “He doesn't ask if you could do something. He mandates you.”
She added that while deputies typically worked four days in a week in the past, they now work five.
Spokespeople for the sheriff’s office and City Hall did not immediately respond to inquiries on the claims that Miranda’s leadership has led deputies to leave the office.
Tagged
cannabis
Health and Science
new york city
public safety
City Council
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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