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NYPD barricades Washington Square Park ahead of 4/20 weed party
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 20, 2026
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Liam Quigley / Gothamist
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 20, 2026
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The NYPD on Monday tried to nip a Washington Square Park marijuana party in the bud.
Police officers set up barriers and closed off all but one of the park’s entrances, allowing people to only enter from Fifth Avenue beneath the arch.
The cops searched everyone’s bags as they entered and cleared out unlicensed vendors in an apparent attempt to head off an annual 4/20 celebration that typically draws massive crowds of reefer lovers.
American potheads have commemorated the high holiday for decades by toking up at 4:20 p.m. But the celebrations in Washington Square Park have grown far more brazen since 2021, when cannabis was legalized in New York.
Parties organized in the park by social media influencers on April 20 the past three years have gone viral online, with hundreds of attendees smoking doobies and handing out free sticky icky.
The NYPD’s crackdown comes two months after social media influencers organized a snowball fight in the park, where cops were quickly overwhelmed by the crowd. Several officers were pelted with snowballs in a caught-on-camera episode that drew millions of views. Police arrested two people — including an influencer who goes by the moniker of “Diaper Man” — following the snowball fight and charged them with harassment and obstruction of government administration.
The incident was condemned by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, but largely dismissed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said “it looked like a snowball fight.”
Police on Monday morning pulled out all the stops to avoid a repeat of the snowball fiasco. They checked parkgoers’ bags as they entered, and asked them if they had fireworks, glass bottles or alcohol.
An NYPD spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An NYPD officer chomped a cigar on 4/20 while he cracked down on a man selling water at Washington Square Park.
Liam Quigley / Gothamist
The cops also cleared out unlicensed vendors and artists who have for decades been fixtures in the downtown space.
Police officers told Lou Olmeda, who came from the Bronx, that he couldn't even give away the bottles of water he'd planned to sell to stoners out of his cooler.
Deputy Inspector Nicholas Minor, the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Sixth Precinct that encompasses the park, told Olmeda to pack it up.
“Can I give water away?” Olmeda asked.
“No,” Minor replied.
Minor gave the order as he chomped on a cigar in the park. City law prohibits smoking both tobacco and the devil’s lettuce inside any park, punishable by a $50 summons.
Olmeda said the heavy police response was retaliation for the February snowball fight.
Smoking is illegal in city parks, but don't tell that to NYPD Deputy Inspector Nicholas Minor.
Liam Quigley / Gothamist
“This is payback,” he said. “You know what this is for, all the checking the bags and all of that, because the cops getting hit in the head with snowballs.”
Shamauri Rivera, 25, was frustrated after his bag was searched as he entered the park.
“Is this a park or is this a mall? Is this a school? Is this an airport? I don't, I thought this was a public space,” he said.
Rivera said the deployment of officers was excessive.
“ They're just choosing the days when they want to police and when they don't want to police,” he said.
Tagged
manhattan
new york city
parks
public safety
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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