WORLD WORLDWIDE USA New York NY New York City NYC the city THE CITY News Journal Update - THE CITY SCOOP: Big Weed Prepares to Make Its Move

 

View this email in your browser

If you know anyone who might like this newsletter, send it to them. If this was sent to you by someone else, subscribe here — it's free!  Dear New Yorkers, New York promised to put independent businesses at the heart of a newly legal pot industry. But now, major medical marijuana companies are making their play amid the state’s stalled retail launch. If, as expected, the state’s cannabis regulatory agency passes on Tuesday a proposed set of permanent rules for the industry, any of the 11 medical companies that pony up a $5 million down payment will be able to open a medical store to sell cannabis products to adults by the end of the year.  They’ll be allowed to cultivate up to 100,000-square-feet of weed in indoor environments not permitted for other growers — allowing them five harvests a year, compared to one for the struggling individual farmers currently licensed by the state to grow outdoors only.  And they’ll be the only state licensees allowed to operate full farm-to-processor-to-retail operations. State officials prohibited this type of vertical integration in the law legalizing cannabis so that small operators entering the market had a better chance to succeed against deep-pocketed corporate players. For those who have tracked the state’s legalization process, Big Weed’s multi-million entry may come as a surprise.  When legalization took place in March 2021, the law’s progressive character assumed center stage. “No other state in the country prioritized the people who were most negatively impacted more than New York,” said state Assembly majority leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo), who co-sponsored the legislation. But now, with the state having failed to roll out more than a handful of weed stores and a court injunction halting the opening of stores owned by people affected by drug laws — plus, licensed growers sitting on hundreds of thousands of pounds of rotting product because of the dearth of authorized retailers — larger companies are about to cash in.   Read more here. Some other items of note: Alvin Henry was on his way to work on a Wednesday morning in April when his daughter called from his home to say she heard a bang. He rushed back to his semi-detached, three-story house in Canarsie, where he discovered that the floor had opened up, causing significant structural damage to their home. It wasn’t the first time it had happened in the neighborhood. But no one knows exactly how many homes are affected, since homeowners do not always report the issue to the city Department of Buildings.  A couple that bought a nearly $5 million condominium in Pierhouse, a development in Brooklyn Bridge Park, has sued the city for “excessive and frequent noise” from the park-operated public bathroom beneath their five-bedroom apartment. Eric Landau, the president of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp., the nonprofit that runs the public park, says the organization does not believe the bathrooms violate the city’s noise code. The organization has also conducted repeated renovations on the allegedly boisterous bathrooms — but not enough to dim the noise, according to the family. Private development, including the 108-unit Pierhouse condo, was originally allowed in Brooklyn Bridge Park as a way to pay for the park’s maintenance.  As of Sept. 10, 619 people were hospitalized with COVID in New York City, and average new cases per day were up by 8% since last week. THE CITY can help you navigate the recent COVID surge. Here's our tracker and our guide to what you need to know about treatments, tests and more. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Monday’s Weather Rating: 3/10. It will be warm and humid again today, with high temperatures in the mid 80s, uncomfortable dew points and a chance of scattered storms all day long. Not a total washout, but the vibes are once again unstable. Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Saturday, Sept. 16: Farmhouse Family Day: Busy with Bees, a kid-friendly educational event about bees and other pollinators featuring beehives, honey tasting and more. Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum in Brooklyn, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Bee-related activities begin at 1 p.m.) Free. Saturday, Sept. 16: Poseidon Parade, a celebration of end-of-summer with costumes and floats. Beach 94 Street Plaza Amphitheater at Rockaway Beach in Queens, 12-2 p.m. Free. Saturday, Sept. 16: Art is Alive 2023, a multi-disciplined arts conference of art forms from an African and African diasporic experience. Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. THE KICKER: Commemorative events organized by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks will take place throughout the day, beginning with a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m.  Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Monday. Love, THE CITY P.S. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom runs on support from readers like you. Donate here.

THE CITY's work is made possible, in part, through the support of our sponsors. Interested in becoming a sponsor of THE CITY? Contact us here.  Copyright © 2023 THE CITY, All rights reserved.