Cannabis Store Application Withdrawn Amid Regulatory Confusion

A cannabis seller looking to open a licensed shop on Manhattan’s East Side has suddenly withdrawn their application due to a recent state miscalculation regarding operational requirements.

Joshua Gleiber, the owner of HF Dispensary LLC, had reached out to Community Board 6 on July 31, seeking approval for his dispensary at 998-1000 First Ave.

However, last week, the state’s cannabis management office informed 100 operators at various licensed clinics that they could no longer legally function from their current sites. This confusion arose after regulators inaccurately assessed distances from schools and places of worship.

The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) had earlier determined that Gleiber’s proposed location met the 500-foot distance requirement from neighboring schools.

The measurement was based on the space between the store entrance and the school entrance.

Unfortunately, OCM Executive Director Felicia Reid stated last week that earlier judgments were incorrect.

According to her, the 500-foot rule should be measured from the entrance of the dispensary to the nearest school or religious establishment—so, there’s that.

In essence, the OCM claims they made no errors, which means that many cannabis vendors are currently out of compliance.

This situation is just one more hiccup in an already troubled rollout of the cannabis program, which has faced various issues from enforcement challenges to delays in licensing.

In a letter to the Community Board, Gleiber requested to withdraw his application, stating, “We apologize for the late notice, but we just received information from OCM indicating our location does not comply with the new understanding of the law.”

He added, “If our site is not legally permissible under New York State cannabis regulations, we cannot move forward.”

Brian LaFerry, the coordinator for CB6, later sought clarification regarding whether Gleiber had fully “retracted” his application for the First Avenue store.

Gleiber indicated the future of the project remains uncertain, saying, “I won’t be attending tonight’s meeting, so please excuse my absence.”

He continued, “I’m not avoiding questions; the OCM has given me several options concerning the application.”

He also mentioned that he’s still contemplating whether to move ahead with already licensed businesses, although he hasn’t decided on resubmitting another application for a different site yet.

HF Dispensary has signed a 10-year lease at the proposed location and invested considerable resources in preparing for the opening.

During a recent meeting, CB6’s Business Affairs and Licensing Committee expressed opposition to the proposed location, citing community discontent and voted against it.

They determined that the HF clinic was actually only 215 feet away from the New York International Montessori School, and just 177 feet from the New York Kids Club.

In light of the situation, Governor Hochul assured that the cannabis seller wouldn’t face any repercussions for the mistakes made by state agencies. She stated, “I’ll advocate for them and find a way to move forward.”

Hochul added, “We don’t want diligent people who pour their hearts into their businesses to suffer due to bureaucratic blunders.”