Applications to the New York State Office of Cannabis Management for New Adult-Use Retail Dispensary Licenses
Empire Flower Inc, dba N/A, 520 Main Street (Roosevelt Island) Application to the Office of Cannabis Management for an Adult-use Retail Dispensary License
Cannabis Shop On 1st Ave 62nd Street For illustrative Purposes Only
The potential Cannabis Dispensary/Flower shop would be located in the former medical offices at 520 Main Street in Roosevelt Landings
which has been empty since the retirement of Dr Jack Resnick in September 2023. To date, efforts by Hudson Related to lease the vacant space to another medical practice have been unsuccessful….
On November 4, I asked Hudson Related:
The Roosevelt Island Cannabis store application for Empire Flowers Inc is on the Agenda for November 10 Community Board 8 Street Life Committee.
Do you wish to make any statement about the Cannabis Store? What is the reason you think a Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary is a good idea and any response to objections by some in the community? Some resident comments in website story and Instagram post.
Have you or the proposed tenant, Empire Flowers Inc, checked to see if it is legal for a Cannabis store to be in the 520 Main Street location. My understanding is that a Cannabis Store cannot be within 200 feet of a religious institution or 500 feet from a school. There are religious institutions and schools within that distance.
Also, if Empire Flowers owner Jerred Spindel wishes to give a written statement or a video interview at the site, I’m happy to include it in the story?
Please let me know if there will be any comment from Hudson Related or Mr Spindel.
A Hudson Related spokesperson replied:
The arguments against a cannabis store seem to be that a) it’s not appropriate for a family-friendly island; b) the smells; and c) why can’t you find a better use like a doctor or bakery.
To respond in order, there is not a family friendly neighborhood in New York that doesn’t have a dispensary at this point, and it doesn’t seem to have negatively impacted those neighborhoods. For many years, we resisted leasing to cannabis uses, and in fact evicted one tenant who was selling cannabis in violation of their lease. However, our views have evolved over the past several years as there are more dispensaries in every neighborhood in the City, operating without any of the negative consequences that we are being warned about.
As for smells, interestingly enough, a high percentage of sales are of edibles and vaping products that are odorless. All items are pre-packaged and sealed, and customers are not permitted to consume products in or in front of the store.
Finally, it’s never been mutually exclusive to pick one type of store over another. We have been actively seeking tenants for Main Street including banks and medical uses for many years, and will continue to do so, whether or not cannabis comes to town.
When asked about the 520 Main Street location being within 200 feet of a religious organization and 500 feet from a school, the Hudson Related spokesperson replied:
That analysis would be part of the licensing approval.
I asked representatives of Empire Flower for comment about their plans to open a Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary but have not received a reply.
Roosevelt Island elected officials replied to my request for comment.
My office has heard from numerous Roosevelt Island residents who are concerned about the proposed cannabis dispensary at 520 Main Street. As the space is closely situated to a youth center and a House of Worship, we are raising this fact with the Office of Cannabis Management for review and consideration.
Our office has actively advocated for this space to remain a medical office and facilitated walkthroughs with interested medical service providers.
Community voices are an essential part of the decision-making process, and I strongly encourage residents to make their views known at the upcoming public hearing. Community Board 8’s Street Life Committee will review the proposed application at a public hearing on Monday, November 10, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM via Zoom.
I remain committed to advocating for the best interests of Roosevelt Island and will continue to monitor this proposal closely.”
State laws and regulations issued by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management set very clear standards for where dispensaries can and cannot operate: they cannot be situated within 500 feet of schools, houses of worship, or anywhere children gather. As this application moves forward, I will continue to review stakeholder and community board feedback to ensure the most beneficial outcomes for Roosevelt Island residents.”
…. Twenty years ago I was growing the highest quality indoor cannabis in NY illegally. I was forced to stop and had to pivot fully into the other commercial businesses I was running at the time in brick and mortar boutique art, footwear and apparel stores. I have extensive experience in luxury art/fashion retail. For my new venture in cannabis, The Florist New York, I will be creating a concept destination retail and delivery dispensary, curated with the highest quality products. It will be something that has not been done, but I can’t tell you everything just yet! The handle on Instagram is @thefloristnewyorknewyork.
The CB 8 Street Life Committee will make a recommendation on the Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary application to the full CB 8 Board. The full CB 8 Board will vote on a Resolution approving the application or not during their November 19 meeting that will be sent to the NY State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) for a decision. The CB 8 resolution to the OCM is advisory but a person familiar with the process told me:
Technically the State Cannabis Board has final approval and oversight … That said-I’m not aware of any Cannabis shops being approved unless the Community Board votes yes. Roosevelt Islanders can attend those meetings to express their points of view —and the CB takes this very seriously.
Click here to attend via Zoom the November 10 CB 8 Street Life Committee meeting and express your views on the Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary planned for 520 Main Street.
UPDATE 11/11- The CB 8 Street Life Committee unanimously voted against the application for the Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary at 520 Main Street by a vote of seven to zero. Over 100 people attended the virtual meeting in opposition to the application. Only one person attending, in addition to the applicant, was supportive of the Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary.
The CB 8 Street Life committee vote is not binding, but advisory to the full CB 8 which will meet Wednesday November 19 to vote on the Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary application. The full CB 8 Board vote is also not binding but is advisory to the NY State Cannabis Board which makes the final decision.
We did learn that the regulations barring a Cannabis dispensary from operating within 500 feet from a school and 200 feet from a religious institution would not prevent the proposed Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary from opening. Apparently, these rules require that the school or religous institution has to occupy the entire building. On Roosevelt Island, they do not occupy the whole building.
Here’s the full discussion on the Roosevelt Island Cannabis Dispensary by the CB 8 Street Life committee including presentation by the applicant and comments by the community.
It’s outrageous! I strongly oppose the proposal to open a cannabis shop on Roosevelt Island. It’s unfair to residents who cannot tolerate the strong odor of cannabis, not to mention the potential health and safety concerns it brings. We absolutely should not allow our children to grow up thinking cannabis use is normal or harmless. This is not the example we want to set for the next generation. The idea is completely unreasonable — cannabis is a drug, and it should not be normalized in our community.
Thanks Paul and see you there. I’m not opposed to a weed store somewhere on Roosevelt Island but that location is much too close to children’s facilities. I think it violates the spirit of OCM regulations. Public consumption patterns are different than liquor stores / bars / restaurants and risks an increased need for PSD enforcement.
I think it would be more accurate to say that only one person (in addition to the applicant) spoke out in support. There were people in attendance who also support but did not necessarily speak up. I say this also having received many comments from community members thanking me for my courage to speak out. As a parent, long time community member, 3 time marathoner and founder of a local running club, and former cancer advocate, I’m more concerned with the bad example set by intimidation and aggressive tactics of of some parents and the CB8 chair than I am about a storefront for an adult only small business that provides legal cannabis products for those in need of safer alternatives to alcohol and pharmaceuticals. The applicant was not given a chance to share his visions for how the storefront would look. Please visit the recent video RIConnect posted in order to see his renderings. Do people know that there is a whole field of
medicine called Cannabis nursing, and a Cannabis Nursing Association? Lastly, the research shows that such legal dispensaries have been an economic boost to communities, increase diversity, and provide jobs.
While I understand that all involved want to open a now legal business such as this . This island has many children of all ages and keep in mind that some kids are impressionable and may be tempted to try some of the products while asking older people to buy it for them .
My suggestions are : a establishment our island does not have :
A Spanish restaurant
Dunkin’ Donuts
A black owned business, say bakery , or soul food establishment
A thrift shop , & or a non- profit who coats, home goods , etc
My question is : What benefits other than monetary would you be doing for our community .
Look around , you see restaurants & places of business that have services that benefit everyone, whether to stop & have coffee & the many food establishments here .
The no -profit organizations give events & have trips for everyone to enjoy .
So what would your store be offering our community as a whole
In my eyes NONE & look around this is not the community for an establishment such as this .
I wish you luck but elsewhere.
Your establishment will promote the curious and will perhaps even cause the many families with teens and young adults access to something their parents fear .
In response to offer jobs in the community,
Keep in mind that the non-profit organizations here have job fairs for people seeking jobs .
This establishment will offer and probably have their own employees who are trained in this field .
One just can’t offer jobs in this field , it requires more than just offering a job .
Yes there are medical reasons however people who need these services do not out-number the other side of the spectrum of people just coming in to buy .
Doesn’t RI have enough neighbors whom smoke in their house & outside in which many neighbors have complained about without additional fumes etc .
Please understand that RI in areas where you propose to have this shop , we are a separate island where we have a great history of how this island came about and the many changes over the years .
Yes we have new apartment buildings, and great parks and many tourist attractions for visitors to see , but it is a confined island and a community of many people of diverse backgrounds and cultures which we cherish.
We are part of Manhattan but in our quiet separate space , so you see the people that are here , live here or are visiting.
In Manhattan also over the water would be a better fit for your business, where there are hundreds of people working at various businesses, are on the many buses & train stations. For here especially during the week the people here mostly live here .
Think about it and look around, yes we are Manhattan but somewhat away from the hustle and bustle .
We don’t think this is good for our community that all of the organizations here and people try hard to keep it this way , a community separate in many ways and our own.
We have to come together to stop this – reach out to Liz Krueger, Julie Menin, and attend this board meeting and object to this!
It’s outrageous! I strongly oppose the proposal to open a cannabis shop on Roosevelt Island. It’s unfair to residents who cannot tolerate the strong odor of cannabis, not to mention the potential health and safety concerns it brings. We absolutely should not allow our children to grow up thinking cannabis use is normal or harmless. This is not the example we want to set for the next generation. The idea is completely unreasonable — cannabis is a drug, and it should not be normalized in our community.
Thanks Paul and see you there. I’m not opposed to a weed store somewhere on Roosevelt Island but that location is much too close to children’s facilities. I think it violates the spirit of OCM regulations. Public consumption patterns are different than liquor stores / bars / restaurants and risks an increased need for PSD enforcement.
I think it would be more accurate to say that only one person (in addition to the applicant) spoke out in support. There were people in attendance who also support but did not necessarily speak up. I say this also having received many comments from community members thanking me for my courage to speak out. As a parent, long time community member, 3 time marathoner and founder of a local running club, and former cancer advocate, I’m more concerned with the bad example set by intimidation and aggressive tactics of of some parents and the CB8 chair than I am about a storefront for an adult only small business that provides legal cannabis products for those in need of safer alternatives to alcohol and pharmaceuticals. The applicant was not given a chance to share his visions for how the storefront would look. Please visit the recent video RIConnect posted in order to see his renderings. Do people know that there is a whole field of
medicine called Cannabis nursing, and a Cannabis Nursing Association? Lastly, the research shows that such legal dispensaries have been an economic boost to communities, increase diversity, and provide jobs.
While I understand that all involved want to open a now legal business such as this . This island has many children of all ages and keep in mind that some kids are impressionable and may be tempted to try some of the products while asking older people to buy it for them .
My suggestions are : a establishment our island does not have :
A Spanish restaurant
Dunkin’ Donuts
A black owned business, say bakery , or soul food establishment
A thrift shop , & or a non- profit who coats, home goods , etc
URGENT CARE WITH PROFFETIONALS IN THE MEDICAL FIELD
Hello
My question is : What benefits other than monetary would you be doing for our community .
Look around , you see restaurants & places of business that have services that benefit everyone, whether to stop & have coffee & the many food establishments here .
The no -profit organizations give events & have trips for everyone to enjoy .
So what would your store be offering our community as a whole
In my eyes NONE & look around this is not the community for an establishment such as this .
I wish you luck but elsewhere.
Your establishment will promote the curious and will perhaps even cause the many families with teens and young adults access to something their parents fear .
So I say a huge NO FOR HERE !!!!
In response to offer jobs in the community,
Keep in mind that the non-profit organizations here have job fairs for people seeking jobs .
This establishment will offer and probably have their own employees who are trained in this field .
One just can’t offer jobs in this field , it requires more than just offering a job .
Yes there are medical reasons however people who need these services do not out-number the other side of the spectrum of people just coming in to buy .
Doesn’t RI have enough neighbors whom smoke in their house & outside in which many neighbors have complained about without additional fumes etc .
It’s not a good fit for this community.
Hello
Please understand that RI in areas where you propose to have this shop , we are a separate island where we have a great history of how this island came about and the many changes over the years .
Yes we have new apartment buildings, and great parks and many tourist attractions for visitors to see , but it is a confined island and a community of many people of diverse backgrounds and cultures which we cherish.
We are part of Manhattan but in our quiet separate space , so you see the people that are here , live here or are visiting.
In Manhattan also over the water would be a better fit for your business, where there are hundreds of people working at various businesses, are on the many buses & train stations. For here especially during the week the people here mostly live here .
Think about it and look around, yes we are Manhattan but somewhat away from the hustle and bustle .
We don’t think this is good for our community that all of the organizations here and people try hard to keep it this way , a community separate in many ways and our own.
So please a NO to have your business here .