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Ukrainian gallery for “cannabis enthusiasts” coming to Reade
The first tip said that a Ukrainian museum might be coming to 101 Reade — the former Gotham Bikes space between Church and West Broadway — and that was close. In fact it’s called Mriya and is billed as a gallery and social club “made in Ukraine.” (Thanks to J. for the pic.) But a deeper dive on Google shows it may be more of a smoke shop than anything else.
Googling got me to a page on Behance, an Adobe social media platform for creatives. There, it describes Mriya as “a gallery with focus on Ukrainian art,” and then it gets interesting: “a safe space for Ukrainian creators and cannabis enthusiasts.” Huh??
“With the legalization of cannabis in New York, we strive to provide the highest quality products that are hand picked by our team of professionals. We work with Ukrainian artists in our goal to create an inspiring space for the New Yorkers and all the visitors. We donate the profits to a charitable organization that helps resettle Ukrainian refugees in the United States.”
Well, none of this makes a lot of sense. Why would you advertise that you are an illegal cannabis store?
The owners of the Behance page seem to be three men from Kyiv who are partners at a design firm called Celerart. But they all might just be the designers of the logo and not the owners of the business.
The space has been empty for seven years — Gotham closed in 2016.
For the record, they have not applied for a liquor license.
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Please tell me this is a bad joke . . .
Ukrainian gallery sounds like a great addition to the neighborhood; another air and lung pollution shop sounds terrible.
Which one will it be?
The smell of the smoke and having so many of these cannabis businesses is very disconcerting and upsetting. It seems like the number of cigarette smokers has plummeted only to be replaced by this new lovely aroma.
sounds great, marijuana and ukraine!!! ❤️
Politicians make a big noise about the environment and the air pollution in this city and ban cars from many area. Yet, every block in every borough has at least 2 smoke shops so that wherever people walk, they have to breathe in pot smoke. Real healthy for people. I read there are only about 15 legal smoke shops or places where people can have their own pot parties. How is this place legal?
Exactly. At least weed use should be banned from public places. Non-smokers should not be forced to inhale that pollution.
Oh brother!
Sympathy lease.
Are you serious? Yet another weed shop! WHERE CAN WE COMPLAIN!!! This will be total of 5 within the same block.
So we lost a bicycle store and gained another illegal cannabis business with a humanitarian veneer… This is really not good for the neighborhood. Why did they not pick Ukrainian Village, a much (!) more logical location? Is there any limitation for how late this “social club” can stay open? How can we organize to block / shutdown these illegal businesses in Tribeca? (asking as a concerned Reade Street resident…)
“Manhattan Cannabis Chain Raided by Police and State Agents”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/nyregion/unlicensed-cannabis-dispensaries-empire-nyc.html
“[…] The state’s decision to go after Empire marked a significant escalation in its efforts to clamp down on the unlicensed dispensaries that have popped up by the hundreds since lawmakers legalized cannabis in 2021. The raid also sets up what is likely to be a closely watched court battle over whether businesses like Empire have legal standing under the cannabis law.
[…]
“The state has been slow to issue regulations and licenses for legal dispensaries, and there are only 19 operating statewide.
“Empire, whose patrons pay a membership fee to access its cannabis supply, had rebuffed warnings from regulators that its business model was not legal, arguing that it was a concierge service and not a seller.
“But state lawmakers disagreed and passed legislation this year saying paid membership for access to cannabis still amounted to illegal sales. The measure, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law in June, also stiffened fines for violators and allowed tax regulators to bring criminal tax fraud charges.
[…]
“Steve Zissou, Empire’s lawyer, denounced the enforcement actions on Tuesday and maintained that Empire was doing nothing wrong. He said the agents were refused entry after they arrived “without warning and without a warrant.”
“The agents resorted to force to get inside the Chelsea store, Mr. Elfand said, and cleared shelves of smokable flower and infused edibles like gummy bears. Within moments of their departure, the outlet was back up and running; a steady stream of customers had lined up at the locked door. […]“
The Life Narcotic with Steve Zissou…