The City of Syracuse has won its ninth lawsuit filed by a corner store closed by the Office of Code Enforcement over engaging in illegal activities.
The Onondaga County Supreme Court’s decision affirms the city’s ability to close local shops without having to get a court order. The city turned to that option in 2022 to combat illegal weed sales while federal regulation remained hazy. In all, seven different stores were closed.
"These rulings are a clear confirmation that our code enforcement procedures are lawful," Mayor Sharon F. Owens said in a press release. "When stores put our residents, especially our children, at risk by selling illegal drugs and/or tobacco to minors, we will act with immediacy, and I am pleased that the decisions support these actions."
It’s been four years since the Syracuse Common Council approved a law allowing the city to fine or close businesses selling marijuana without a license. After the decision, the lawsuits, all filed under Article 78, came rolling in.
In one 2023 case, filed by T’s Wireless LLC, Ben Walsh was named as a defendant in the suit. The business alleged the former mayor visited the store to take pictures of weed products an hour before a formal raid from the Office of Cannabis Management.
Some closures of shops with illegal sales of marijuana and tobacco products come from traditional and unrelated code violations. Those include building, fire or zoning code noncompliance.
The biggest difference for cases using the Common Council's ordinance is the ability to immediately close businesses.
One of the nine lawsuits filed against the city established that sales of synthetic marijuana created an immediate threat to public safety, allowing the office to take action without providing any prior notice.
This effort is headed by the Office of Code Enforcement, but several municipal agencies, including the Department of Law and Syracuse Fire Department, were involved in the closures and lawsuits.
"This has been a major undertaking that required significant coordination and effort across multiple City departments," Corporation Counsel Sue Katzoff said in a press release. "We are thrilled with these results. They demonstrate that with collaboration and sufficient resources, we can make significant improvements in our neighborhoods.”
Locations have been closed on S. Geddes Street, Midland Avenue, Wolf Street, N. Geddes Street, Oakwood Avenue, and Park Street.
