A city marshal sent to carry out an eviction on the first floor of a Marion Avenue building in Fordham ended up calling for backup after finding something far stranger than an empty apartment: a suspected marijuana grow operation with 30 adult cannabis plants inside. No arrests have been made, and officials say the investigation remains ongoing.
The discovery happened Monday morning, according to the NYC Sheriff's Office, as the marshal executed the eviction order on the Marion Avenue building near East 195th Street in Fordham. As reported by CBS News New York, investigators who responded wore hazmat suits while clearing out the plants from what the Sheriff's Office identified as apartment 6A. Separately, the New York Daily News reported the plants were found in a vacant first-floor apartment around 10:20 a.m., while ABC7 New York reported that authorities confiscated all 30 cannabis plants from the unit. The two outlets differ on the exact floor of the apartment, and the dossier does not resolve the discrepancy.
Neighbors told CBS News New York they had concerns about the apartment for months before the bust. Evelyn Arredondo, who lives next door to the unit, said she called the FDNY after noticing a strange smell coming from next door, though the department reported finding nothing unusual during that earlier response. She described her neighbor as quiet and said she saw people coming and going quickly, but could not see his face.
A Six-Month Unpaid Rent and a Vacate Order
The building superintendent said the tenant in the apartment had not paid rent for six months, according to CBS News New York, and a vacate order had already been posted on the unit's door. Arredondo told the outlet she was scared because she lives with her child, who has asthma, underscoring the anxiety the lingering odor had caused for nearby residents. ABC7 New York similarly reported that the smell coming from the apartment had been overwhelming for months, prompting FDNY crews to return with hazardous materials trucks once the grow operation was discovered.
The NYC Sheriff's Office said it is now conferring with the FDNY, Con Edison and the Department of Buildings to determine whether additional violations are warranted, though officials have not said whether any have been issued. As of Monday, authorities had made no arrests in connection with the find, and the Sheriff's Office described the investigation as ongoing.
Not the First Bronx Grow House This Year
The Marion Avenue case fits a pattern of similar discoveries across the Bronx in recent years. In one earlier case, an illegal grow house was found in the first-floor apartment of a six-story building at Pelham Parkway and Holland Avenue, prompting the evacuation of two apartments after fumes were detected; three occupants of the units above were evacuated, though no injuries were reported, per ABC7 New York's coverage of that incident.
Another case saw city marshals sent to deliver an eviction notice at a basement apartment on Kelly Street in Longwood instead uncover nearly 100 marijuana plants, with cellphone video obtained by officials showing 93 plants arranged under specialized lighting equipment. Investigators in that case also found propane tanks inside the apartment, and the tenant was issued building and FDNY violations, according to the same ABC7 New York report.
Limits on Legal Home Cultivation
Under New York's legal framework, the Office of Cannabis Management's home cultivation guidance allows a private residence to have up to six immature plants and six mature plants, even when multiple eligible adults live there. A grow operation with 30 plants, as found on Marion Avenue, would fall well outside those residential limits as described in the agency's FAQ.
