Following a zigzag path, local cannabis stores are ready to go

The noble experience of legalized marijuana, New York style, is now coming to a licensed retail store near you at Northern Westchester.

A store will open in Cortland this month and two others in Eye skill are set to follow later this summer. A third Peekskill candidate could still gain state approval and could potentially enter the market.

Getting to this point has been a long struggle given years-long delays caused by numerous lawsuits challenging the path forward. new York distributes licenses. Now comes the task of operating a viable and profitable marijuana business.

Marijuana legalization won approval from the state legislature to eliminate criminal prosecutions, make the product safer for users and generate tax revenue for municipalities.

Now that we are at this point in the history of legal marijuana sales in New York, it is up to business owners, the state, and law enforcement to make the system work.

Will marijuana smokers switch from buying their weed from street dealers and shady “smoke shops” to regulated dispensaries charging 13% sales tax? Can state and local governments find ways to stop illegal sales without “re-criminalizing” marijuana? Stay tuned.

The Northern Westchester winner the race to launch legal marijuana sales is House of Fire of Kings on Itinerary 6 in Cortlandt, next Kohl’s big store. Doors will open on June 19 Day of Juneteenth.

The King family, headed by the mother Jane And father Walter Jr., add this activity to their other entrepreneurial ventures. Jeanne and her daughters Wykeima And Wyquasie operate the Kings & Queens Daycare at Peekskill Beach Shopping Center and Walter Jr. runs his own security company.

Kings also have Entertainment place for little kings and queens, which formerly operated in the space where Kings House of Fire allegedly sold marijuana. The Fun Place will reopen its doors just down the street at the old Odd lots store.

Kings House of Fire will be run by his son Walter, 27, the third child in the family, with his mother, who was licensed by the state. Office of Cannabis Management.

It appears that Kings House of Fire has a monopoly on cannabis stores in Cortlandt, given the strict restrictions of the city’s regulations, which were intentionally designed to severely limit the number of stores that can legally operate in the city.

The city code regulating cannabis reads (in bold) “…no retail cannabis dispensaries shall be permitted less than 1,250 feet of any other lot containing another cannabis retail dispensary. Additionally, retail cannabis dispensaries will only be permitted on Route 6/Cortlandt Boulevard in commercial or industrial areas from the Peekskill City Line to Westbrook Drive, on the north and south sides of the road and only on the south side of Route 6/Cortlandt Boulevard between Westbrook Drive and Baker Street, and they are prohibited below 1,500 feet any land on which a place of worship, a school, a retirement home, a hospital, a park or green land is located, as well as facilities for the mentally or physically disabled for housing, training or places of work , whether or not such facilities are under contract with any governmental entity.

Cloud 914 And Valley Greens will soon open in Peekskill after obtaining state licenses and special permits from the city. Planning Commission.

The partners Chris Calabrese And Kyle Knapp and his wife Kim will operate Cloud 914 on the site of the former Nardone Brothers furniture store on Washington Street.

Calabrese served six years as a Peekskill city police officer and became president of the PBA before transferring to the Westchester County Department of Public Safety for the next 40 years. Knapp operated the famous Kyle’s Pub for 25 years in front of Nardone’s Furniture. Both partners were born and raised in Peekskill.

Valley Greens will be located at 939 Central Avenue near Bruised apple library. The partners Shane Jackson, Daniel Berté AndStephen Bond followed a tortuous path to final approval. They were the first of the Peekskill applicants to obtain a state license, but had to find a new location after the owner of their first location withdrew his lease offer.

Their friendship dates back to their time together in college and they all graduated. Walter Panas High school. Each brings a unique set of business experiences: Berte in sales and marketing; Link in the development of travel agency sales; and Jackson in commercial real estate.

Valley Greens was among the first applicants to obtain a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license, granted to individuals with prior marijuana convictions, business ownership experience, and significant presence in New York State. Kings of Fire also received a CAURD license.

A third candidate as a Peekskill pottery store does not yet have a state license and no longer has a location to open, although it has already obtained a special permit from the Peekskill Planning Commission.

Candidates for Graceful greens, Michael Ruttenber And Stephen Van Ostrandboth United States Marine Corps veterans, obtained a special permit from Peekskill to operate at 32, rue Division Nordbut it still lacks a state license.

Under state rules, they are prohibited from opening because the Valley Greens store is less than 1,000 feet away. A lawyer tried to stop Valley Greens’ special permit by filing a lawsuit against the state, arguing his clients didn’t know earlier that their location would be excluded.

The lawsuit didn’t stop Valley Greens from opening, so now, if Gracious Greens ultimately gets a state license, they’ll have to find a new location.

Jim Roberts is a veteran journalist whose roots in Peekskill go back generations.