Tilem said the vendor for the toys, JMD All Star of New Jersey, told owner Jamal Ahmed the sets, which included orange plastic-tipped toy guns, were legal for sale and one of the store's managers failed to inform the owner when a city inspector wrote the store up for stocking the items.
City regulations bar the sale of realistic toy weapons.
Tilem said Ahmed missed a hearing due to not being informed by the manager and the city imposed the $30,000 fine, which he described as "a really, really abusive penalty."
A spokeswoman for the city's Consumer Affairs department said the fine was appealed, but upheld.
"Realistic-looking imitation guns are illegal and dangerous, and just last week, a 15-year-old in Texas was killed while holding one of these guns," she said.
