Three cannabis stores approved for the neighborhood

The store proposed for 30 Warren was shelved for now — I think they are coming back in February — but CB1’s executive committee approved three businesses for locations in the district: 88 Fulton, 386 Canal and 310 Canal. See more on CB1’s rules and guidelines for cannabis stores here.

386 CANAL
Biwa Beads was approved for the current illegal store on West Broadway and Canal — Bud & Beyond. The applicant is Rachel Bryant and she is a member of the Choctaw Nation. I thought the board had made a rule NOT to support legal stores in currently illegal locations. As one member said, “we should not support landlords who had illegal dispensaries.” But I think their intent was to not support the business owners who had illegal dispensaries… Bryant’s lawyer noted that the board she want to convert these spaces if they can.

The CB1 committee said they had to move their bathroom to the first floor.

There was also a lot of discussion about bike parking, since deliveries must be made by bike. Not sure why this is a big issue…

310 CANAL
Omni Urban was also approved for 310 Canal, at the bottom of Mercer on the south side, next to the old Pearl Paint building. This is a father and son operation who have been in property management for 20 years.

Their lawyer said they received Landmarks Approval to change the storefront of the building, which is in the Tribeca East Historic District, but I think he was making that up — the CB1 staff had no record of that coming before the board. (Below is the description from the designation report on the building.) I can’t see how anyone would want to jump through the hoops it will require to get Landmarks approval just to open a pot store…

From the Tribeca East Historic District designation report:

310 CANAL STREET between Broadway & Church Street (South Side)
This four-story, twenty-foot wide store and loft building is located near the middle of the block. Designed and built by John J. Devoe, Jr., for Jonathan Edwards, probably the businessman and lawyer listed in contemporary directories, it was erected in 1879 and joined through the rear wall to No. 53 Lispenard Street. No. 310 replaced one masonry dwelling which was developed in the 1820s by Isaac Lawrence (d. 1841), a shipping merchant and prominent American banker. Composed of a cast-iron base and a brick upper portion trimmed in stone, the facade exhibits characteristically nee-Greek elements such as inscribed lintels with rosettes and dropped ends, smooth stone banding, jagged brick banding, and a bracketed metal cornice. Additional surviving historic fabric includes the cast-iron piers (behind security gates) and a metal cornice of the original storefront and wood sash windows at the upper stories. The building’s occupants have included manufacturers of clothing and cigars and an engraver. Currently, the first story is occupied by a store.

88 FULTON
The Fulton Street store, between Gold and William, will be called Bud Nation (so dumb!) and received approval with the caveat that they solve for the fact that it is not handicap accessible. In that case, Tribeca Community School was close but the rules say the 500-foot rule only applies to schools on the same street.

(For all these applicants, the CB1 members all ask about access to a bathroom, which I don’t understand. What retailer has a bathroom for shoppers? And none of these stores are requesting a license for in-store consumption, at least not yet…)

One thing this applicant came with was a lot of signed support from neighbors. And as one CB1 member said, “These stores are coming. This is as good a location as any: on a major thoroughfare. There is no perfect location.”

 

4 Comments

  1. I thought cb1 wasn’t approving anything within 500ft of a school ?? There’s a school well within 500 ft on St. John’s lane and there is a Betty ford across the street.

  2. Fulton Street is already very crowded during the week with people – tourists, workers, students etc – and vehicles – particularly e-commerce delivery, general commercial and Uber.
    The sidewalk by 88 Fulton is very narrow.

    Bike delivery parking for 386 Canal?
    Folks can’t just walk over?
    Entitlement and privilege is mind-blowing.
    Serfdom in 2024.

  3. Can we talk about the illegal weed spot on Chambers by 16 Handles. It is within 500 of the playground on Chambers and Greenwich and school playground of PS234. Glad they finally took down the outdoor spacing which housed the weed smokers from lighting up there. CB1 is rubber stamping anything and everything nowadays.

  4. Who keeps green-lighting these things? No one even shops at these places, how do they stay open? Get rid of the mayor, the DA and time to stop this nonsense.

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