A new Bushwick marijuana dispensary is facing backlash after painting over a mural of Biggie Smalls. The tribute, painted by Huetek, which featured Biggie as a baby with the name “Brooklyn,” had adorned a wall at 85 Suydamn St for about three years before The Emerald Dispensary moved in. Co-founder Christina De Giovanni told the New York Post that advertising regulations from the New York Office of Cannabis Management had forced them cover it, and that they “didn’t want to take it down.”

“[The state compliance officer] said, ‘if the inspector sees it and says no, you’re going to have to delay your opening,'” De Giovanni told the Post, continuing that regulations only allow the name and nature of the business, store hours, address, and phone number to be displayed, with any signage offering “enticement” prohibited.

De Giovanni told the Post that she and fellow co-founder Ray Roman had used “removable anti-graffiti paint” to cover the mural and said, “it’s really unfortunate that we haven’t had the opportunity to get an honest start before getting backlash for something that wasn’t our decision.” She added, “our next move is to work with regulators to try to change this.”

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