Town shutters Syosset vape shop after alleging illegal cannabis sales

Town of Oyster Bay officials on Tuesday padlocked a Syosset vape shop where employees allegedly sold cannabis products without a license.

A town highway department worker, accompanied by town public safety officers and police, affixed a padlock to the front door of Exotic Vape Shop Corp's store at 27 Jackson Ave. around 10 a.m., town spokeswoman Marta Kane said.

A person working at the business — whose storefront sign says "Eastwind" — “left willingly and cooperated,” Kane added. 

The vape shop’s attorney, Andrew Campanelli, said his client is "engaged in a lawful business operation" and they would try to resolve the matter with the town, or if that proved impossible, in court.

“If in fact some employees did do something they weren’t authorized to do on their own and they’re being prosecuted for it, then so be it. But certainly my client didn’t condone any type of unlawful activity," he added.

The town sued the business and its landlord, Great Neck-based Syosset Station LLC, in June alleging it was a nuisance under the town code due to repeated arrests of employees over the past year for alleged sales of cannabis edibles, according to court filings.

Records show State Supreme Court Justice Francis Ricigliano signed an order Friday telling the shop owner and the property's landlord to appear in court Aug. 3 to answer to why they shouldn't be held in contempt for violating a June temporary restraining order by failing to cease operations.

 The town alleges the business can be shut down as a nuisance. Under Oyster Bay code, a property on which two convictions of certain crimes occur within a year can be deemed a nuisance, according to the lawsuit. One of those crimes falls under a state law dealing with controlled substances.

Police arrested two employees at the store in 2022 and again this year on charges that included selling cannabis edibles. One defendant pleaded guilty to reduced charges of disorderly conduct. The other defendant, who prosecutors said still faces a pending charge, “was not convicted of a crime,” according to his attorney, Steven Gaitman.  

Oyster Bay opted out of legalized sales of marijuana and the town's code prohibits its sale.

The town also has alleged in its lawsuit that the business violated town codes mandating a new certificate of occupancy and for having a neon sign without a permit.