Community Board 1’s executive committee approved a cannabis shop for 35 Wall, mid-block between William and Broad/Nassau (next to Tiffany’s!), which should open in the second quarter of 2024. More on that below, but also, the applicant for 161 Hudson, at Laight, was denied since the landlord called the board to say he was not granting them a lease since he was negotiating with a *different* cannabis dispensary. That applicant will come before CB1 in December.

There is another cannabis store coming to Murray, maybe by the end of the year.

The applicant for 35 Wall, which is across from the Trump Building at 40 Wall, said he will be operating a “high-end” shop with no deliveries, no consumption and no events. (When asked what he meant by high end, he couldn’t answer other than to confirm that there will *not* be artificial turf running up the walls.)

Dispensaries are allowed to operate from 9a to 2a daily by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management rules, but community boards can limit their hours to a total of 70 a week. So the applicant and the committee agreed to 10a to 9p daily, for now.

Originally there were 23 applicants at 14 locations on the agenda, but all but this one were denied or withdrawn. Most just didn’t show; several were not aware of the siting rules and were rejected for that reason (34 New Street, 96 Greenwich). Cannabis businesses must be:

• 1000 feet from an existing cannabis establishment
• 500 feet from a school
• 500 feet from a community facility
• 200 feet from a house of worship
• 500 feet from a harm reduction facility
• 500 feet from a park
• 1000 feet from a playground

The state OCM also does not allow applicants to postpone their hearings with the CB, so those were also denied. AND several of the applicants are already operating illegal weed shops (88 Nassau, 386 Canal).

The applicant for 34 New Street actually thanked the board members for their time (!) after being rejected and said he was planning on a half-million-dollar renovation — which made me wonder what these places are going to look like once they are up and running. “A lot of the dispensaries, illegal or legal, are being thrown together for $50,000,” he said. “For us it’s more about an experience — for the customer, it will be something they remember and want to come back to.”