Parents scold the opening of this West Merrick Road vape site. Here's why.

Wedged between a deli and Home Goods store, on the corner of a commercial strip facing busily trafficked West Merrick Road, is an empty storefront whose windows are papered over. A sign, which seems to have toppled over, had been duct-taped to the glass that read: Coming Soon: American Choice Smoke and Vape shop.

Its name, spelled out in official lettering overhead, erases all doubt about its claim to the space. A smoke and vape shop is expected to make its imminent debut on the street. The business is one of the hundreds that have boomed in popularity nationwide, lining their shelves with vape and e-cigarette products.

For several parents who live near the commercial strip, it’s a hard reality to stomach. The store is just a five-minute walk from Shaw Avenue Elementary School, to the north, and a stone’s throw away from Clear Stream Avenue Elementary School, to the south.

The Takeaway

• An upcoming smoke and vape shop, on West Merrick Road raises alarm among parents due to its close proximity to Shaw Avenue Elementary School and Clear Stream Avenue Elementary School.
• Despite recent legislation by village trustees banning vape and e-cigarette sales within a 1,000 foot distance, the shop is considered "grandfathered in" as it secured a permit in 2021.
• While officials argue that vape and smoke shop restrictions aim to curb youth addiction, vape store owners contend that responsible establishments will not sell to underage individuals.

Families echoed fears that students and young people may flock to the store, and others like it, in hopes of getting their nicotine fix given its visibility and proximity to the nearby schools — or, at the very least, turn them on to the idea of smoking.

“We don’t want it here,” said Steven Maltenfort, who lives on the nearby avenue. “I think it’s just a bad idea to have it so close to school, a bad influence on everybody. Kids think vaping is OK, but it’s dangerous. There’s a lot of kids that walk home with their parents, and they go past those stores.”

“Before I drop off my 12-year-old kid at school, I see a lot of kids and teens hanging around that corner deli next to the vape shop to eat,” said Tauqir Rizvi, who argued that young people often have trouble discerning right from wrong and can be pulled toward vices like smoking more easily.

Others, like Junior Florvil, are concerned for his 11-year-old daughter, who enjoys grabbing pizza at the corner deli store but might be exposed to other young people vaping, which could signal the wrong message.

Valley Stream District 30 Superintendent Roxanne Garcia-France, alongside all three building principals, joined dozens of parents in objecting to the presence of the store. They took their grievances straight to the mayor’s desk and the Town of Hempstead in the form of a letter earlier this year.

“The operation of a smoke and vape shop in such close proximity to not one, but two schools is virtually guaranteed to perpetuate the nationwide epidemic of youth addiction,” the letter said, “which most severely affects students in historically marginalized groups.”

The letter leveled charges that the village violated the Hempstead Town code by allowing the store to be “within 1,000 linear feet of any school, park, or playground.”

The village has dismissed those accusations, saying the Town of Hempstead has no jurisdiction over where a retail business can open shop in the village. A Town attorney official subsequently confirmed that the law only applies to the unincorporated parts of the Town, which, in effect, omits the village. 

Cries to deter youth vaping, tobacco, and e-cigarette consumption have not gone completely unanswered by village officials.

Likely in response to pressure from school leaders and stakeholders, village trustees approved a law in September, with nearly the same prohibitive language, banning the sale of vape or e-cigarette products within 1,000 linear feet of any school, park, or playground.

Village clerk James Hunter noted that the West Merrick Road smoke and vape shop will be “grandfathered in,” having been granted a permit more than a year before the latest code regulation took effect.

“The business applied for a permit in 2021 and complied with the code at that time,” said Hunter in writing. “Its permit has not been revoked.”

While officials associated with American Choice could not be reached for comment, vape store owners have taken issue with the presumption of guilt implied by restricting smoke and vape shops in this way. Their gripe is that respectable shops won’t be selling vape or tobacco products to underage youths.

However, critics note that despite the state ban on certain flavored nicotine products, decked in bright colors and flavors, their use among minors remains prolific along with the need to reign in their use and access, however possible.

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.