Looking for a special-ops ready-fire shotgun ammo pouch ($34.99), or a muzzle break for an AK-47 ($8.49 to $13.99)? If so, Jersey City may have just the place for you.
Just weeks after the city held a gun buyback program to cut down on crime, a new retail store, First Line Tactical, opened its doors at 353 Palisades Ave. in the Jersey City Heights neighborhood.
Described by the company’s CEO and northeast director as a store for the law enforcement, professional security, and emergency services industries, First Line Tactical does not sell any handguns or other firearms. What it does sell are all the items a gun owner may need to tailor their weapon to suit their personal tastes – gun sights, holsters, magazines, and other accessories.
Employees will check to verify that customers who purchase gun paraphernalia have licenses to carry firearms.
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Gadoy, who co-owns a security company and who works as a firearms instructor at a firing range, said the Jersey City location is First Line’s first retail storefront.
Previously the Texas-based company had only an online presence.
The story of how a southern gun paraphernalia store made its way to Jersey City lies in the friendship between Gadoy and Nick Barron, an avid hunter in Texas and First Line’s founder/CEO.
The men understand that some members of the community may have concerns about their business, particularly given Jersey City’s problem with gun violence.
But, Barron said, “The store’s target market really is the law enforcement and security community.”
Residents: It’s okay with us
When a reporter showed residents the First Line web site, they were initially concerned, until they heard more about what the storefront does – and does not – sell.
“What kind of place is this? Is this a gun store? If so, I have a real problem with that,” said Odessa Smite, who lives just blocks from First Line Tactical. The mother of three said she had “real problems” with what she saw online.
After learning the store does not sell guns and expects to cater to police officers, security professionals, and rifle enthusiasts who shoot at the gun range, many of Smite’s concerns were eased, she said.
“If they’re just selling different kinds of holsters and flashlights, I have no problem with that. I don’t like the fact that they’ll be selling knives,” she said. “But, you know, people can buy knives lots of places. There’s no difference between a knife from this place and a knife from someplace else…As long as they don’t sell stuff to kids or criminals, I’m okay with them being here.”
Smite said she was relieved to hear that store employees will check to verify that customers who purchased gun paraphernalia had licenses to carry firearms.
Dee Dee Johnson, another Jersey City Heights resident, had similar concerns about the store.
“As long as they are serious about checking that kind of stuff, that’s one thing,” said Johnson. “My concern is, will there be some employee who doesn’t check? What happens if they get careless? What happens if some friend of a friend comes in wanting to buy something they have no business having? If they’re careful and following the law, then fine. Then I see them like every other business out here. But they better be careful who they sell to, that’s all I can say.”
One resident, Joe Santiago, seemed disappointed when he heard First Line would not be selling firearms.
“You gotta go pretty far away to buy a firearm,” said Santiago, who considers himself a gun enthusiast. He emphasized that he has no criminal history and has never been arrested. “People think that the only people who are allowed to be hunters or target shooters are people in rural communities. If you’re into that stuff but you live in a place like Jersey City, then you must be a criminal…But that’s not always the case. You can have an armed criminal in the suburbs and a hunter in the city.”
At present, Santiago does not have a gun or a gun permit, he said. But he added that he plans to acquire both within the next year or so. He said he welcomes the fact that a store like First Tactical opened in Jersey City, rather than “someplace in Bergen County.”
Interestingly, one resident interviewed, Nina Lewis, believed First Line Tactical glorified weapons and sent the wrong message to young people.
City: Hey, it’s legal
So far, First Line appears to have the blessing of city authorities, although the store initially raised some eyebrows.
On the store’s opening day an equipment purchaser for the Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) stopped in to check out what products First Line has to offer, and it is possible the city might do business with the company at some point. An official from the Jersey City Fire Department also paid a visit.
Gadoy and Barron said they met with senior members of the JCPD before opening day to alleviate any concerns the department had.
Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said last week, “The reality of it is, we may have our personal feelings about it, but as long as they meet all of the legal standards, we have no option other than to hope that they have the best of intentions, and are cautious about who they do business with.”
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.