Wednesday, December 28, 2022

The city's first legal, regulated adult-use cannabis shop opens Thursday on Astor Place

ICYMI: The city's first legal cannabis recreational dispensary opens tomorrow (Thursday) at 750 Broadway at Eighth Street on Astor Place inside a former Gap retail space. 

The business, Housing Works Cannabis Co., "will initially stand out among a sea of unlicensed vendors as the only retail location in the city selling regulated, pre-tested marijuana products," per Gothamist

The grand opening tomorrow is at 4:20 p.m. (For real.) Housing Works Cannabis Co, will then be open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and provide in-store service and delivery. Hours will adjust in the coming weeks. Learn more here.
 
Here's more about the business and building via Gov. Hochul's office
The storefront operated by Housing Works is located at 750 Broadway in the Astor Place neighborhood. All proceeds from dispensary sales will be directed to parent organization Housing Works, Inc., founded in 1990 to address the dual crises of HIV/AIDS and homelessness. The self-sustaining nonprofit provides job opportunities, legal advocacy, and comprehensive housing and health services funded, in part, by revenues from its thrift stores, SoHo bookstore, and now its cannabis dispensary. 

With a focus on compassion and dispelling stigmas, Housing Works endeavors to move the cannabis industry forward by supporting the practical needs of its community through an equity-driven and harm-reduction approach. 

Spanning 4,400 square feet, the iconic building where the dispensary will be, known as 1 Astor Place, was completed in 1883. Housing Works Cannabis Co will welcome patrons with an introductory shopping experience upon opening, with plans to carefully build out an expanded and thoughtfully curated space as cannabis products become more available.
To date, the New York State Cannabis Control Board has approved 36 Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary Licenses, including 28 for qualifying businesses and eight for nonprofits.

23 comments:

hywel dda said...

Mere blocks from the NYU Washington Square campus, expect a crowd.

XTC said...

I never thought I'd live to see the day when weed was associated with the terminology "thoughtfully curated" shopping experience.

Anonymous said...

They open at 4:20 tomorrow, not at 11AM.

Grieve said...

Thanks 9:34

I meant to note that. 11-7 are their hours moving forward after the opening day.

Anonymous said...

So what is to become of the 10,000 other "smoke shops" in the East Village?
This will certainly be interesting to watch in the upcoming months.

stephen b said...

Many places you go in the EV, the proprietors swear they are licensed. Like 11:19 says - should be interesting

Anonymous said...

Well good for the weed folks, not my thing. Though it's tolerated now, if you can walk around smoking weed you should be able to walk around with a beer with zero repercussions. Meaning it's on the books and legal.

Anonymous said...

I still think we should have a Quaalude dispensary, for those of us that are old enough to remember and never lost our taste for the best drug mankind ever came up with. If everyone was on Quaaludes we would have such a peaceful society.

Anonymous said...

Amen

Anonymous said...

What are the hours tomorrow? 4:20pm to ?

Anonymous said...

@7:56am: Much nearer all the dorms on 3rd Avenue... expect major crowds from there.

Anonymous said...

Housing Works is a great organization doing great work and if you have ever been to their Bookstore and performance space or their Thrift Stores you can see they know how to run a business. They also do many other things in our hood, including a Healthcare center on 9th and D and a harm reduction center in that same building. They do outreach in TSP and clean up syringes in TSP as well. I am confident they won't be selling to NYU Students under 21 and students are not the reason they chose 1 Astor Place. 1 Astor Place sits between the East Village and West Village, two neighborhoods ravaged by AIDS in the 80s and 90s and home to many members of Act Up. HWs co-founders were all members of Act Up and opened there 1st office a few blocks south at 594 Broadway.

Anonymous said...

IMO, choosing to open at 4:20 PM is juvenile & explains how "Elon Musk/not-funny-at-all" they are. But hey, Housing Works, go ahead and trash your reputation, too. Worked so well for Elon, just ask him!

Anonymous said...

@ 2:15 everytime I heard about Quaaludes now, I think of the scene from Wolf Of Wall Street.

2ndAveSilverPanther said...

@9:09 PM, thanks for the thoughtful info re: Housing Works, and @ 11:30 PM, you might want to lighten up, take a toke and enjoy the joke. The since busted weed store at the former Stage Deli location opened on 4/20 last spring. More important things to bitch about, IMO.

Anonymous said...

Do they even manufacture Quaaludes any more?!?

Anonymous said...

@1:48pm: I have never yet in my life needed marijuana, cocaine, heroin, quaaludes, or *any* of that shit.

I don't need to "lighten up and take a toke" b/c I don't need to be drugged or high to enjoy myself & my life. Similarly, I don't need to be drunk to enjoy myself.

The "joke" is on everyone who needs drugs or drink to have fun or even to tolerate life.

Go ahead: toke, inject, snort, whatever. It's your brain and your DNA you're playing with.

Anonymous said...

Every time I hear about Quaaludes I think damn!, I wish I had some!

Anonymous said...

Not sure. But in the 70’s they were manufactured in Canada, Mexico, and UK. Mexican ludes were half the strength of the US ludes. In UK they were called Mandrix.

Anonymous said...

Everyplace that has legalized weed, has an explosion of illegal weed. Ask California.

Anonymous said...

Lighten up. Take a Valium.

Anonymous said...

@9:58am: "Lighten up. Take a Valium."?! You apparently have NO idea what effect Valium has on the central nervous system!

Anonymous said...

No. We don’t need more drunks in the streets. Weed is fine. Move along