The city is looking to stamp out smoking among young people around the five boroughs.
City lawmakers introduce a new bill that would make it illegal for most stores to display tobacco and smoking products out in the open.
The shops would have to keep them under the counter until the sale.
Supporters also say hookah, which uses a water pipe, can be just as dangerous to people's health as cigarettes.
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez hopes this will reduce hookah use, which he says has been on the rise in recent years.
"It is unacceptable to see our youth on this street smoking hookah, at 15, 16 years old," Councilman Rodriguez said. "We have to stop this. And it has to happen now."
Rodriguez says studies prove that by keeping the products hidden, minors are less likely to consider smoking later in life.