May. 1, 2024 By Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato I am currently writing this in the early hours after intensely debating the State Budget. As your State representative, I have been working to pass fiscal policies that represent the needs of our community. Moments ago, our community scored a tremendous victory as I voted yes and…
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Mar. 15, 2024 By Anthony Medina Authorities seized hundreds of untaxed cigarettes and nearly 40 pounds of marijuana products on Thursday, March 14, during a nighttime bust of a convenience store located next to the Ozone Park district office of Council Member Joann Ariola. The raid of the 93-08 101st Ave. store stemmed from a…
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Feb. 27, 2024 By Athena Dawson Jamaica’s second recreational cannabis dispensary opened on Friday, Feb. 23, with the owner and his family holding a grand opening celebration. Silk Road NYC, located at 166-30 Jamaica Ave., is the second licensed cannabis shop to open in downtown Jamaica, with the other being Good Grades that opened last…
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Jan. 24, 2024 By Bill Parry
Two Queens lawmakers are speaking out about the proliferation of illegal smoke shops in their districts.
Nov. 16, 2023 By Gabriele Holtermann Good Grades, the first woman-owned retail cannabis dispensary in Queens, reopened to the public in Jamaica on Nov. 15 after undergoing an extensive $1 million renovation. The first legal retail dispensary in Queens, co-owned by Extasy James and her cousin, Michael James, opened as a temporary “pop-up” in March…
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Oct. 18, 2023 By Iryna Shkurhan As the state is rolling out legal adult-use cannabis with an emphasis on social equity, community boards have been left with a novel responsibility of approving the dispensary applications that are rolling in. At this month’s monthly meeting that congregates the chairs of all 14 community boards in Queens, a frustration with the state’s lack of support in adopting the new responsibility dominated the meeting. All who spoke up at the Oct. 16 meeting in Kew Gardens expressed a need for more structure to deal with the various challenges that are already coming up…
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Jul. 24, 2023 By John Schilling When 29-year-old Jeremy Rivera stood before a judge in Queens County Court on Aug. 8, 2016, he was sentenced to two years in Gouverneur Correctional Facility in Upstate New York for a non-violent crime: possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. Prior to his arrest, Rivera was…
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June 30, 2023 By Michael Dorgan There’s more than one way to roll a joint! The operators of the borough’s first legal cannabis dispensary say they have decided to put a tool used in the war on drugs to better use. Extasy James and her cousin, Michael James, Jr., who own Good Grades on Jamaica… Read more »
May. 16, 2023 By Carlotta Mohamed
Southeast Queens residents filled the auditorium at P.S. 270 in Rosedale on Thursday, May 11, for a town hall discussion with local electeds and NYPD officials on how to protect their neighborhoods from the harmful effects of illegal smoke shops.
Apr. 11, 2023 By Julia Moro Last week, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) approved licenses for a slew of new Cannabis shops coming to New York City, 18 of which from Queens. Qualifying businesses had to have a cannabis-related offense that occurred prior to the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and…
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