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Dear New Yorkers,

A new mayoral task force is conducting sweeps of hundreds of shops suspected of selling illegal weed.

But a video obtained by THE CITY of a raid on a Staten Island store — in which cops seized less than a pound of weed, cursed and hauled a shopkeeper away in cuffs — raises due process concerns.

The 90-second clip shows seven uniformed officers cursing, jumping over the store counter and charging at a shopkeeper after he asked them to show a court order.

Instead, the man was cuffed – before any unlicensed cannabis products were found – and taken to a local precinct where he was charged with obstruction of justice, records show.

“When a cop tells you to do something, you fucking do it,” one officer told the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper’s lawyer, Steve Zissou, told THE CITY that the video shows both due process violations and personal civil rights violations.

“Asking for a court order is not an obstruction of justice,” Zissou said, noting that the shopkeeper was asserting a constitutional right. “This is restarting the war on drugs under the guise of a civil process.”

Read more about the incident here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Monday's Weather Rating: 8/10. A few periods of clouds this morning and some isolated showers later, but overall a nice day. High temperatures in the lower 80s with partly cloudy skies and manageable dew points. The vibes are pretty good!

Our Other Top Stories

Over the weekend, the Miss Subways pageant took place in Coney Island. Queerly Femmetastic, a burlesque dancer representing the A train, took home the tiara. A beauty contest that began in 1941 as a wartime marketing strategy, the pageant was resurrected by the City Reliquary museum in 2017. Miss Subways of old pushed conventions as the first racially integrated beauty contest in the country. The current contest is now opens itself to people of all genders and body types.  Amid controversy over a development plan that would have reshaped Midtown, some former leaders of Manhattan’s Community Board 5 covertly secured an $80,000 anonymous donation to hire an outside consultant for a zoning task force that met privately — all actions that may have violated city ethics and transparency rules. It’s just the latest controversy to roil the board. Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a ban on smartphones in New York schools, reports Chalkbeat, as city and state officials grapple with the potential harmful effects of social media and other online platforms on youth mental health. Speaking last week, Hochul said that smartphones should not be available to students during the school day.  On the latest episode of FAQ NYC, Julie Satow, author of “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion,” is interviewed by guest host Sarah Shears. Listen here.

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Monday, June 3: The 2024 Photoville Festival, an outdoor exhibition of photography in more than 85 locations around the city. Runs through June 16.  Friday, June 7: A show by Circus Amok, a queer and justice-oriented troupe that has been performing since 1989. Free from 6 to 7 p.m. at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens. Friday, June 7: Films on the Green: Final Set, an outdoor screening of a French tennis drama (with English subtitles). Free from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Washington Square Park.

THE KICKER: Here’s how some wildlife species have adapted to NYC, from salamanders who’ve lived on the same hill for a century to mutant fish thriving in the toxic parts of the Hudson River, reports the BBC.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Monday.

Love,

THE CITY

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