Neighbor News
From Heaven's Tiny Tots Daycare and Learning Center To Albany
How Tiffany Fulton and Silent Voices United Led Harlem's Fight to Protect Children from Illegal Smoke Shops
What eventually reached the halls of the New York State Capitol began with a Harlem childcare provider who needed help—and a community advocate known for taking on difficult fights.
In early 2024, Tameka Silva, founder and operator of Heaven’s Tiny Tots Daycare and Family Learning Center, was confronting concerns involving smoke shops near two of her Harlem childcare locations: 2185 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and 2094 Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
The situation at 2185 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard was especially troubling: a storefront directly next door to the daycare appeared to be preparing to operate as a smoke shop.
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Silva had been trying to get assistance, but she was getting nowhere.
Frustrated and concerned about the children, staff and families she served, Silva turned to someone whose advocacy work she already knew: Tiffany Fulton, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Silent Voices United Inc.
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Fulton had a long record of community advocacy and a reputation for taking neighborhood concerns beyond conversation and pushing for action. Silva was familiar with that work and reached out because she believed Fulton could help get something done.
That call became the catalyst for the Harlem campaign.
Fulton took the lead.
Through Silent Voices United, she organized what grew into a broader campaign against illegal smoke shops near daycares, schools, youth programs and other establishments serving children and young people.
Fulton mobilized community advocates, engaged the news media, brought elected officials to the issue and pushed for the concerns of children to become part of the larger legislative conversation surrounding illegal cannabis businesses.
She was joined by advocates including Gilda Gillim, Ruth McDaniels, Shanny Herrera, parents, educators, Heaven’s Tiny Tots families and other community supporters.
The message was direct:
Illegal smoke shops do not belong next door to children.
HEAVEN’S TINY TOTS BECOMES THE CENTER OF THE FIGHT
Although both Heaven’s Tiny Tots locations were affected by concerns surrounding smoke shops, 2185 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard became ground zero because the controversial storefront was directly beside the daycare.
On April 1, 2024, CBS New York reported from outside Heaven’s Tiny Tots, documenting community concerns about the former barbershop next door and smoke- and marijuana-related imagery visible inside.
Standing outside the daycare, Fulton told CBS:
“We have enough smoke shops in our community, but we will not have them near our day care centers.”
The statement defined the campaign.
This was not an attack on New York’s legal cannabis industry. It was a fight against illegal and unlicensed smoke shops being allowed to proliferate around children and youth-serving establishments without adequate community protections.
CBS New York — Harlem smoke shop proposed next to daycare
FULTON BUILDS A COALITION
Fulton understood that stopping one storefront would not solve the larger problem.
The campaign therefore expanded from protecting Heaven’s Tiny Tots to demanding stronger protections for daycares, schools, youth programs and other places serving children throughout Harlem and beyond.
Silent Voices United brought the issue to the press and helped build a coalition of residents, parents, childcare advocates, community leaders and elected officials.
A major press conference outside Heaven’s Tiny Tots put political leaders directly at the site of the controversy.
Speakers and supporters included Queens Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, State Senator Cordell Cleare, Council Member Yusef Salaam, former Lieutenant Governor and State Senator Brian Benjamin, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Democratic District Leader William Allen, and Jordan Wright, who was then running for Assembly in the district. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams also spoke at the gathering, lending his voice to the growing call for stronger enforcement and action against illegal smoke shops operating near children, daycares, schools, and other youth-serving facilities.
They joined Fulton, Silva and other advocates in calling attention to the impact illegal smoke shops could have on children and neighborhood quality of life.
The setting made the argument visible:
Heaven’s Tiny Tots was on one side. The controversial smoke-shop storefront was directly next door.
What began with Silva asking Fulton for help had become an organized Harlem campaign with elected officials standing alongside the community.
FROM HARLEM ADVOCACY TO THE SMOKEOUT ACT
At the state level, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar was championing the SMOKEOUT Act, legislation intended to give municipalities greater power to close illegal cannabis businesses.
Fulton recognized that the Harlem campaign raised an issue that needed to be addressed within the broader enforcement debate.
Silent Voices United supported the legislation but argued that protections involving children, childcare centers, schools, youth programs and other youth-serving establishments needed greater consideration. Fulton also raised concerns about landlords being misled about the type of businesses prospective tenants intended to operate.
CBS New York documented that Fulton and SVUI went beyond public protest and submitted proposed revisions while the legislation was still being considered.
Fulton explained:
“So we submitted our amendment and they took it into consideration…”
That is a critical part of SVUI’s documented role.
Fulton did not simply organize rallies after the fact. She brought the concerns raised by the Harlem campaign into the legislative conversation while the state was considering stronger enforcement.
CBS New York — Tiffany Fulton discusses SVUI's proposed SMOKEOUT revisions
ASSEMBLYWOMAN RAJKUMAR TAKES THE CHILDREN TO ALBANY
Assemblywoman Rajkumar then provided the campaign with an extraordinary opportunity to bring the people directly affected by the issue into the State Capitol.
On April 9, 2024, Rajkumar invited approximately 30 Heaven’s Tiny Tots children, along with staff, parents and community advocates, to Albany.
The trip was Rajkumar’s initiative and responsibility. She paid for the bus transportation and provided lunch for the children, parents and staff.
Inside the New York State Assembly, Rajkumar formally recognized the Heaven’s Tiny Tots delegation, including Silva, Fulton and other Harlem advocates.
She described the young children's participation in what was essentially their first advocacy campaign against an illegal smoke shop threatening their daycare.
The roles were different but connected:
Silva sought help. Fulton organized and led the Harlem campaign. Rajkumar championed the state legislation and made it possible for the children, parents and advocates to carry their message directly to Albany.
HARLEM’S CHILDREN ENTER THE STATE SENATE
The delegation also visited the New York State Senate, where Senator Cordell Cleare formally welcomed Heaven’s Tiny Tots.
Cleare told senators that the center served children ages two through five and explained that the delegation had traveled to Albany because an illegal smoke shop was attempting to locate beside their daycare.
She said the children had come to add their “faces and voices” to the call to protect childcare providers.
The delegation also engaged lawmakers including Cleare and Senator Leroy Comrie, a leading Senate supporter of the SMOKEOUT effort.
Official New York State Senate transcript — April 9, 2024
Children who had begun this journey beside their Harlem daycare were now sitting inside the chambers where New York laws were made.
THE PRESSURE CONTINUES IN HARLEM
Fulton and Silent Voices United continued organizing after Albany.
On April 18, 2024, SVUI led another Harlem action calling for stronger enforcement against illegal smoke shops.
Manhattan Community Board 10 Chair Marquis Harrison spoke about the proliferation of illegal shops, while Shanny Herrera, representing Council Member Yusef Salaam’s office, publicly supported Fulton and Silent Voices United’s efforts.
Fulton told the New York Amsterdam News:
“Our community deserves better, our children deserve better and we will not rest until our voices are heard and our concerns addressed.”
New York Amsterdam News — Harlem's SMOKEOUT advocacy
THE ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS PASS
Hours after the April 18 Harlem action, stronger SMOKEOUT enforcement provisions passed as part of New York’s FY2025 State Budget, according to the Amsterdam News.
Governor Kathy Hochul subsequently announced expanded enforcement authority allowing state and local governments to move more aggressively against illegal cannabis businesses.
Of particular significance to the Harlem campaign, factors that could establish an imminent threat included sales to minors and proximity to schools, houses of worship and public youth facilities.
The final legislation did not adopt every phrase proposed by SVUI word-for-word, and Silent Voices United does not claim that one organization alone passed statewide legislation.
But the documented chronology matters:
Before passage, Tiffany Fulton organized a Harlem campaign centered on protecting children from illegal smoke shops, publicly identified what she believed was missing from the legislation and submitted proposed revisions. The final enforcement framework expressly recognized schools and public youth facilities as part of the public-health and safety equation.
Governor Hochul — Expanded illegal cannabis enforcement authority
FROM ADVOCACY TO PADLOCKS
On May 7, 2024, Mayor Eric Adams launched Operation Padlock to Protect, using the expanded state authority to inspect and seal unlicensed cannabis businesses.
During its first week, New York City reported 150 establishments inspected and 75 illegal locations sealed.
By August 2024, more than 1,000 unlicensed cannabis shops had been shut and sealed.
THE STORE THAT STARTED THE FIGHT
Back in Harlem, the smoke shop beside Heaven’s Tiny Tots was short-lived.
Today, an African hair-braiding business occupies the storefront.
The daycare remained.
The children remained.
And the campaign that began there became part of a much larger fight over how New York protects children from illegal cannabis businesses.
ONE CALL THAT GREW INTO A MOVEMENT
The origin of this campaign deserves to be preserved accurately.
Tameka Silva was trying to protect two Heaven’s Tiny Tots daycare locations and was not getting the help or results she needed.
Knowing Tiffany Fulton’s history of advocacy in Harlem and her reputation for taking community problems seriously and pushing until something gets done, Silva called Fulton for help.
Fulton responded by taking the lead and organizing the fight.
Through Silent Voices United, she turned an individual childcare provider's problem into a broader Harlem campaign for children and youth.
Gilda Gillim, Ruth McDaniels, Shanny Herrera, Darrell Fulton and other advocates joined her.
Parents and educators joined.
The press came.
Elected officials came to Heaven’s Tiny Tots.
The issue reached Albany.
Assemblywoman Rajkumar made it possible for the children, staff and parents to travel to the Capitol.
Senators Cleare and Comrie helped amplify the issue in state government.
And ultimately, New York enacted stronger enforcement provisions recognizing the dangers illegal cannabis businesses can pose near schools and public youth facilities.
The story began because Tameka Silva knew whom to call when she needed help.
And Tiffany Fulton did what Silva knew her for doing:
She showed up, organized, advocated and pushed the issue forward.
From one phone call...
to a press conference...
to television and newspaper coverage...
to elected officials standing outside a Harlem daycare...
to proposed legislative revisions...
to children sitting inside the New York State Assembly and Senate...
the campaign demonstrated what can happen when grassroots advocacy refuses to allow a neighborhood problem to be ignored.
Tiffany Fulton and Silent Voices United led the Harlem fight.
Others joined it.
Elected officials responded.
And Harlem's children were heard.
Silent Voices United Inc. — Turning Voices into Action.
