No cannabis do: Three weed shops scrap plans for Greenwich Village, Soho

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Greenwich Villagers were fired up over some applications for new legal pot stores in their neighborhood, and they weren’t lighting up joints — more like torches to go with their angry pitchforks.

A total of three applicants were scheduled to make presentations before the Community Board 2 Cannabis Licensing Committee on Mon., July 15. However, over the past week, all three of them successively bailed.

One of the applicants, Leafy, at 122 Christopher St., at Bedford Street, was located too near a school, P.S. 3, per the restrictions of the 2019 Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

Meanwhile, an application for Ganja Rus, at 385 Canal St., near W. Broadway, was also problematic — because an unlicensed pot place is already operating at the location.

Finally, Vutra, which had hoped to open in the former Le Pain Quotidien space at 10 Fifth Ave., at the corner of Eighth Street, withdrew Saturday. The storefront on the tony strip has been empty since February 2023 after foundation drilling at the nearby construction site at 14 Fifth Ave. destabilized and cracked the landmarked building, forcing its emergency evacuation. In fact, a partial vacate order from the Department of Buildings still exists on the property.

W. Fourth Street activist Brian Maloney had been drumming up protest against the applications. In his view, the neighborhood is already oversaturated with rogue reefer places — and that’s enough ganja for one community.

“Let’s first shut down all the illegal dispensaries first,” he said, “before we start loading these shops near schools, homes and churches.”

Meanwhile, the venerable Washington Square Association was leading the charge against the Vutra application at the former Le Pain Quotiden spot. Vutra pulled out apparently shortly after W.S.A. President Trevor Sumner fired off an outraged e-mail on Saturday morning.

Basically, W.S.A. was fine with croissants and canapés — but not chronic and kush.

Sumner’s e-blast cited numerous reasons to oppose the legal dispensary, including proximity to preschools and children’s playgrounds, along with existing drug issues in the neighborhood.

“We already face pervasive issues with drug addicts littering Eighth Street on this block,” he said. “Adding a dispensary will only exacerbate these problems.”

Moving forward, Sumner and the association are offering a few suggestions. First, they propose extending the required distance from schools for dispensaries from 500 feet to 750 feet — roughly the typical length of one avenue block.

“That’s all we ask,” Sumner stressed. “One avenue block.”

In addition, echoing Maloney, the community leader called for a temporary halt on issuing state licenses for legal cannabis stores.

“We call for a pause on issuing new licenses until the numerous illegal, unlicensed stores have been closed,” he said, “so that legal dispensaries can even compete.”

The e-mail also urged residents to voice their objections to Governor Kathy Hochul.

“Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent report called cannabis regulation in New York State a ‘disaster,'” Sumner said. “We agree, and this approval hearing is just another symptom of a rushed and disorganized legislative process that wreaks havoc on all of us. It is outrageous that this licensing proposal is even being considered.

“Governor Hochul is also calling for rapid 90-day turnaround of license applications, pushing the responsibility of even basic checks down to local communities, meaning we expect to be deluged with even more outrageous applications looking to slip by,” he continued. “The well-being of our community, especially our children, must take precedence.”

Mar Fitzgerald, the chairperson of the C.B. 2 Cannabis Licensing Committee, said it’s not unusual for applicants to drop out. Sometimes, for example, it can be a matter of real estate — whether the applicant can show proof of control of the storefront. In this case, she declined to comment on the specific reasons why the applicants had called things off, deeming it “moot.”

“They all withdrew,” she said. “It’s not rare. It happens all the time. And you can reapply. We get withdrawals, reconsiderations. You get a change of address — or they go to another community board that is a better fit for them.”

Due to the withdrawals, the committee meeting has been canceled since there were no other items on the agenda.

“It would have been, I think,” Fitzgerald said, “a very robust meeting.”

As for how much the Office of Cannabis Management takes community board resolutions into account when deciding whether to issue licenses, Fitzgerald said,  “I feel like the O.C.M. is responsive to our recommendations.”

In one notable instance, though, Community Board 3, which includes the East Village, had strongly opposed granting a license to Gotham Cannabis for a legal dispensary at 3 E. Third St. The board felt the place would be a harmful presence for recovering substance abusers at the E. Third Street Men’s Shelter across the street — and putting men on probation and parole potentially at risk of going back to jail. Nevertheless, O.C.M. approved the license.