Pot stickers: NYC 'Chinese takeout' truck will give you munchies

Jun 09, 2023

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Potstickers indeed!

A van with a "Chinese takeout" sign is actually an illegal rolling weed shop, hawking pre-rolled $15 cannabis "appetizers" and $180 "main" course flowers.

The van, seen last week in the East Village, also offers $18 "peyote cookies."

The self-described "dispensary on the go" is doing brisk business without selling a single dim sum.

"Everyone smokes. From the younger crowd and the middle-aged and the older people. You can never really go wrong with that," said the van worker, who said his name was Patrick Fitzgerald, 25.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the van — emblazoned with the logo of a takeout container brimming with bud — parked at the corner of Lafayette and Bleecker streets, and placed a "menu" board on the sidewalk.

In less than an hour, eight people forked over more than $300 for gummies and pre-rolls. In two hours, the van served 30 patrons. All sales were cash or Venmo.

One customer, "Michael," was initially fooled by the signage and poised to purchase Chinese chicken wings and dumplings until he got closer.

"Now I’m getting some herbs. Some fine herbs," he laughed.

But the van is no laughing matter.

The state Office of Cannabis Management told The Post the mobile cannabis dispensary is unlicensed and illegal.

The city Sheriff "has assisted in cases involving mobile trucks in the past" and planned to look into the takeout van, said Finance Department spokesman Ryan Lavis.

Sheriff Anthony Miranda said his office "has taken enforcement actions and assisted with investigations involving mobile trucks selling illegal products. Our enforcement strategies will continue to evolve and we will continue to work with our partners to address this issue and keep our communities safe."

On May 5, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the takedown of five people who were charged for their alleged roles in operating illegal mobile marijuana dispensaries from two trucks in Astoria and an illegal smoke shop in Ozone Park.

"The New York City Police Department is steadfast in our commitment to rid the city's streets of unlicensed, illegal businesses that pose significant public safety problems in our communities," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said following the Queens bust.

Currently, there are nine licensed adult recreational-use cannabis dispensaries open in New York state and 40 state-authorized medical marijuana shops, law enforcement officials said.

Durell Ventour, 50, and Marley Nelson, 43, pulled over their Ford to make a purchase. Ventour, an IT director, said he saw the "beautiful" branding and thought to himself, "It's definitely not kale!"

Another satisfied customer who purchased gummies said she was in town on business from North Carolina. "I wish it were legal there," she lamented.

Fitzgerald shrugged off legal concerns.

"They come to us," he said. "Marijuana serves a lot of beneficial [purposes] … No one dies off marijuana and no one kills anyone off marijuana. I see no harm."

He said the business has been around for about six months, there are two vans and his boss also "has six restaurants." He would not elaborate.

"As of right now, I’m just a small-time investor and an employee," Fitzgerald said.

Chinese Takeout NYC brazenly promotes its business on Twitter.

Said Fitzgerald, "This is a way better alternative than getting weed from the little shady guy in the car."

A roving unlicensed cannabis van combined with peyote cookies on the menu "would most certainly draw the attention" of police and "federal law enforcement agents as well," said professor Jillian Snider from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a 13-year veteran of the NYPD who retired in 2019.