Residents of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, deeply affected by drug abuse, have joined forces with the New York City government in cracking down on illegal marijuana dispensaries. Their strong opposition has successfully led to three cannabis shop operators, originally scheduled to present at the Community Board meeting earlier this week, to withdraw their license applications. As a result, the related public hearings have been canceled.
On the calendar of Manhattan’s Community Board 2 (CB2) website, it was clearly stated in red font that the meeting scheduled to be hosted by the Marijuana Licensing Committee on the evening of the 15th was canceled due to all applications being withdrawn.
The three cannabis businesses that withdrew their applications and their proposed locations are as follows: “Leafy NYC II” intended to set up at 122 Christopher St, too close to the public school PS 3, violating the regulations of the “Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act” enacted by the state government in 2019.
The second cannabis store, “Ganja Rus,” sought to open at 385 Canal St near West Broadway, but the location already had an “unlicensed” marijuana shop in operation.
Regarding “Vutra,” despite its intention to open at 10 Fifth Avenue on the corner of Eighth Street, previously the site of the Le Pain Quotidien café, they also withdrew their application on Saturday. The building is still within the restricted area outlined in the partial evacuation order issued by the Department of Buildings due to surrounding construction issues.
The decision of the three cannabis operators to back down is closely related to the opposition statement released by the local community organization, the Washington Square Association, last Saturday. The association expressed their objection to Vutra opening a store at 10 Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street.
The opening statement of their declaration read: “The Washington Square Association strongly opposes the proposal to issue a marijuana store license at 10 Fifth Avenue. The proposed location near Washington Square Park poses significant risks to our community, especially to our children.”
According to the report by the community media outlet Village Sun on the 13th, Brian Maloney, founder of the West 4th / Mac 6th Block Association, also voiced his opposition to marijuana operators opening businesses in the area.
Maloney expressed concern that drug addicts with a lack of moral values have already inundated the entire community. He emphasized the urgency in shutting down all illegal marijuana shops before they extend their reach to schools, homes, and churches.
Maloney had mentioned to the media two years ago that the community had been facing an increasing number of “blatant” drug abuse and trafficking activities since 2019, reaching an alarming level that forced residents to hire private security to maintain public safety.
Due to security vulnerabilities brought by illegal marijuana and tobacco shops, New York Governor Kathy Hochul authorized the Marijuana Regulation Office (OCM) and local governments to directly lock and seize illegal operators in April this year, as well as increasing penalties for landlords. This initiative was followed by joint efforts by the New York City Sheriff’s Office, the New York City Police Department, and the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to crack down on unlawful operators.
With both the New York City and the state government tightening the space for illegal marijuana shops, communities are also taking decisive actions.
According to the resolution released by CB2’s Marijuana Licensing Committee, between January 19th and 23rd this year, the committee rejected the license applications of five cannabis operators.