City Council members are pushing legislation to make it easier to padlock the hordes of unlicensed pot shops that are choking their neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs.

The measure — being introduced by Councilman Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) — would specifically cover illicit cannabis sales for enforcement under the city’s nuisance abatement law.

The bill would also create a new category of public nuisance for selling to anyone under the age of 21.

Powers noted that lawmakers and then-Mayor Bill de Blasio amended the public nuisance regulations in 2015 to make it easier to crack down on smoke shops selling synthetic weed known as K2.

The councilman — whose district runs covers much of Manhattan’s East Side and midtown inundated with illicit cannabis shops — said passing the bill this year is a top priority.

“We want to pass this nuisance law as soon as possible. There’s very little enforcement going on,” Powers told The Post Wednesday.

“This amendment to the public nuisance law will provide a much quicker way to shut these unlicensed shops down.”

A state Senate hearing on Monday about the budding legal cannabis industry revealed that the proliferation of unlicensed pot shops has spiraled out of control.

State legislators and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved the law legalizing the recreational sale of marijuana in 2021 without adequately addressing enforcement issues, critics said.

Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislature approved a law boosting fines of up to $20,000 a day as part of a belated crackdown. The state Office of Cannabis Management and Tax Department were given more authority to inspect and close down shops.  

Also, a new city law approved earlier this year allows authorities to go after Big Apple landlords who rent store space to illegal weed or tobacco sellers. Landlords face initial fines of $5,000 and then $10,000 following inspection thereafter.

Mayor Eric Adams and City Sheriff Anthony Miranda estimated there as many as 1,500 illicit pot shops in the Big Apple.

But only 26 licensed cannabis shops have opened statewide — just 11 in New York City — under the rocky state’s rocky rollout.

The slow pace has given illicit peddlers ample time to establish a big foothold  — by setting up unlicensed shops that mostly do business in cash and don’t pay cannabis taxes that licensed weed dispensary stores must pay.

A few have even brazenly opened up across from City Hall and the Queens civic hub that includes the District Attorney’s office, Borough Hall and state Supreme Court.

Powers said he wants New York City authorities — the NYPD and the Sheriff’s Office — to take on a bigger role in enforcement, saying state agencies don’t have the necessary manpower and resources to put a dent in the illicit market in Gotham.

“This is a law enforcement issue. We expect the NYPD to be more involved. This law will put us in charge of enforcement in a real way,” Powers said.

Powers said the bill is gaining momentum  — noting that Council members Eric Bottcher, Gale Brewer, Julie Menin and Chris Marte of Manhattan have signed on as co-sponsors along with Oswald Feliz of The Bronx and Lynn Schulman of Queens.