While New York City has been fighting the legal cannabis battle (again) nearly all summer, unfortunately, progress has been slim. Yet while cannabis remains illegal in terms of recreational use in the state, medical cannabis has been legalized since 2014.
Coming as a pleasant surprise to many New Yorkers, and especially Brooklynites, Williamsburg is about to get its first cannabis dispensary. Responsible for the dispensary is Valley Agriceuticals, one of the 10 licensed companies in the state of New York to grow and dispense medical cannabis. After signing of a 10-year lease, Remedy will become the third dispensary in Brooklyn when they open their doors at the base of the Pod Hotel in Williamsburg, likely later this month.
While Remedy is currently operating two locations in upstate New York, 178 North 4th St. marks the dispensary’s first location within the concrete jungle. And surrounded by retail giants like Apple and Whole Foods, business is likely to be booming.
As of now, the only available cannabis dispensary in NYC are run by Citiva, located in Park Slope, and Columbia Care in Brooklyn Heights. Donny Moskovic of Katz and Associates, who brokered the new lease, noted that Valley Agriceutircal had been looking to open in Williamsburg for years, but struggled to find locations accepting of tenants rooted in the cannabis industry. “These deals have been the most complex but most satisfying transactions I have completed in my 25-year tenure,” Moskovic explained to the Commercial Observer.
While this is only the third dispensary to open in Brooklyn, it is likely to be the last due to the states strict licensing policies, which currently only allows for ten operators.
Regardless, Valley Agriceutical’s could not be more excited about the future in Williamsburg. And with their site regarding themselves as being on a mission “to bring the pharmaceutical-grade, standardized doses of medical cannabis to qualifying patients throughout the state of New York,” we’re all looking forward to what’s to come.
Leave a Reply