Feb. 27, 2024 By Athena Dawson Jamaica’s second recreational cannabis dispensary opened on Friday, Feb. 23, with the owner and his family holding a grand opening celebration. Silk Road NYC, located at 166-30 Jamaica Ave., is the second licensed cannabis shop to open in downtown Jamaica, with the other being Good Grades that opened last…
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Feb. 22, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Several illegal smoke shops in College Point and Whitestone were busted Tuesday by the NYC Sheriff’s Department. Officers seized a “tremendous amount” of flavored nicotine vapes, which are illegal in the state, as well as cannabis products such as edibles and joints that cannot be sold without a state license. The officers were able to fill dozens of large garbage bags with the confiscated products during the afternoon raids. One of the locations targeted was Whitestone Essentials on 150th Street. The officers from the sheriff’s department, with assistance from the 109th Precinct, simultaneously raided…
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Feb. 20, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Almost two decades ago, as a fresh-faced teenager who just graduated from Cardozo High School, Sean Kang was arrested on cannabis charges near his Bayside home. On Monday he felt a sense of justice as he opened the doors to the area’s first legal dispensary – New Metro on…
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Feb. 14, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Parents flooded the Queens Community Board 11 office in Little Neck last week during a Cannabis Committee meeting where four proposed dispensary sites were up for approval. Over a dozen children in attendance also held up signs that read “not the spot for pot” and “doobie a neighbor and…
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Jan. 24, 2024 By Bill Parry
Two Queens lawmakers are speaking out about the proliferation of illegal smoke shops in their districts.
Dec. 21, 2023 By Anthony Medina Advocates for additional lighting in Forest Park turned out in large numbers to plead their case at the Community Board 9 meeting Tuesday night, at the same time nearly a dozen cannabis dispensary applicants waited to see if their businesses would gain board approval. More than 30 park advocates attended the meeting inside Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens, on Dec. 19, in an effort to make the board aware of their struggle to obtain lighting in Forest Park. Pablo Rubio, the executive director of Formativas Barcelona SC – NYC, spoke for the many…
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Nov. 28, 2023 By Anthony Medina At the Queens Community Board 5 Liquor License and Cannabis Committee meeting on Monday, Nov. 27, members voted to oppose four out of six applications for proposed cannabis dispensary locations in Ridgewood and Glendale. The committee meeting at the Brewery Keenan Heiser American Legion Post on Cooper Avenue in…
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Nov. 16, 2023 By Gabriele Holtermann Good Grades, the first woman-owned retail cannabis dispensary in Queens, reopened to the public in Jamaica on Nov. 15 after undergoing an extensive $1 million renovation. The first legal retail dispensary in Queens, co-owned by Extasy James and her cousin, Michael James, opened as a temporary “pop-up” in March…
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Nov. 10, 2023 By Anthony Medina Queens Community Board 5 (CB 5) officially voted to oppose all three applications for legal adult-use cannabis dispensaries during its meeting at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, on Wednesday, Nov. 8. As a follow-up to the Community Board 5 Liquor License and Cannabis Committee meeting held last week, board members heard again from the public regarding the proposed sites for the state’s conditional adult-use retail dispensary applicants and moved to vote on the matter once and for all. Once the Liquor License and Cannabis Committee report was shared with the board,…
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Oct. 19, 2023 By Czarinna Andres and Anthony Medina Queens elected officials have united to formally express their concerns over proposed adult-use retail dispensary license applications for storefronts in Glendale and Maspeth, citing the potential risks posed by their proximity to educational institutions. In a letter written on Monday, Oct. 16, addressed to the New… Read more »