Three Queens dealers settled…
By Betsy Scheinbart
The City Department of Consumer Affairs accused seven Queens cigarette dealers of operating without a license and confiscated thousands of packs of cigarettes Sunday, part of a citywide crackdown on illegal cigarette sales.
Three Queens dealers settled with the city, paid fines and got a license to operate lawfully. The other four cases are still pending.
Those dealers included Anza Discounts, 109-13 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica; Everest Food and Grocery, 94-08 Lefferts Blvd., Ozone Park; and Tipu Stationary and Grocery, 58-14 Myrtle Ave., Glendale.
“These merchants think that they can hide behind a smoke screen and not obey the law,” said Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jane Hoffman.
Consumer Affairs would not release the names of the four vendors whose cases are still pending.
The department inspected 4,229 vendors and seized more than 23,000 packs of cigarettes from 28 unlicensed dealers throughout the city.
“Consumer Affairs has news for all unlicensed cigarette vendors, we will seize any cigarettes that are being sold illegally, no ifs and or ‘butts,’” Hoffman said.
The crackdown was the third major phase of enforcement action against illegal sale of cigarettes.
Last summer, the department released the results of an investigation into web sites that sell cigarettes to minors and in November 2000, it released the results of undercover tobacco sales to minors.
Since last November’s announcement, the department has completed more than 3,600 undercover teen inspections, resulting in a compliance rate of 85 percent of dealers refusing to sell cigarettes to minors. The city’s overall compliance rate was 83 percent, 12 percent higher than the national average.
“More than 6,000 minors try smoking every day and more than 3,000 minors become addicted to cigarettes each day,” Hoffman said. “This crackdown on unlicensed cigarette dealers will continue to ensure that we keep illegal cigarettes off of the streets and out of the hands of minors.”
According to the Retail Cigarette Licensing Law, if a retailer had its cigarettes confiscated, it may have them returned if the retailer is eligible to apply for a license and pays the post-confiscation penalty.
If the cigarettes are not redeemed after six months, the department may destroy the confiscated cigarettes.
“We will not let unlicensed vendors send our tough New York City laws up in smoke,” Hoffman said.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
