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Crowd swarms first legal NYC marijuana shop on second day; long line to enter East Village store

The New York Daily News - 12/30/2022

Demand at New York’s first legal recreational marijuana storefront showed no signs of easing on its second full day of operation Friday, as the line to enter the shop on Broadway at E. 8th St. in the East Village looped around Astor Place.

Customers began lining up at 9 a.m. on Friday, witnesses said — nearly two hours before opening.

By afternoon, the dispensary had added additional staff to accommodate crowds and opened two new cash registers. But patrons still reported 90-minute wait times to the front door.

Spokespeople for Housing Works Cannabis Co. said they served more than 500 people on its first day Thursday, and delayed the store’s nightly closing by more than an hour.

“We have been working tirelessly for weeks in order to be fully prepared for the demand,” said Sasha Nutgent, the retail manager at the city’s first legal pot shop.

“This is a historic moment for New Yorkers, visitors and the cannabis industry as a whole. We’re grateful to our partners for providing safe and reliable products, and look forward to continuing to meet the demand,” she said.

Would-be shoppers turned away on Thursday night were not given priority for entry the second day, spokespeople confirmed. The operation is also working on rolling out preorder and delivery services, which should help with the lines at the centrally located site.

Spokespeople for the site weren’t immediately aware of plans to accommodate a potential influx of patrons when university students to the neighborhood next month. State law still bars marijuana possession by people under age 21.

Housing Works Cannabis Co. offers products from six vendors. It plans to expand its line to 30 vendors within a few months depending on lab results, said Charles King, the Housing Works CEO.

The company is seeking more sales sites throughout the city. At the opening on Thursday, King said Housing Works has “plenty of supply so we can get through the weekend.”

As the state ramps up its bona fide recreational cannabis market, a proliferation of gray-market sites have spread through the city, with large numbers in Chelsea and the Upper West Side.

Many offer reduced prices and put the fully legal locations at risk of losing business when the novelty of legal weed wears off or other dispensaries open.

“I do feel like the Office of Cannabis are keeping their word to diminish the number of illegal competitors so that we have a fighting chance,” King told reporters, adding that consumers can trust their regulated products.

Eight nonprofits have qualified for state licenses, plus dozens of individual operators with past marijuana-related convictions for a total of 36 licenses across the state.

Another license recipient may open just blocks away from Housing Works. The Doe Fund, a nonprofit with a mission to reduce criminal recidivism, submitted an application to Community Board 2 for a site near Union Square on Broadway and E. 13th St., according to public documents.

Community Board 2 members have called for some changes to their submitted plans.

“What we really make sure is this is a regulated product,” said Dr. Cheryl Wu, a physician and the vice president of the community board’s cannabis licensing committee. “We asked them a bunch of questions about packaging in terms of minors, and how they check for IDs.”

Nearby Community Board 3 is also considering an application for a dispensary from the nonprofit STRIVE in the East Village, on E. 3rd St. between Second Ave. and the Bowery.

“A couple of them have actually been denied,” City Council Member Carlina Rivera said of applications for marijuana businesses. Others have been asked to “revisit things like layout,” said Rivera, whose district stretches from the Lower East Side to Murray Hill.

“Compliance and regulation are at the forefront of every application and every storefront,” Rivera said. “We want to get this right.”

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