Aug. 2, 2024 By Anthony Medina A targeted operation launched in May to shut down illegal smoke shops has led to the shuttering of over 195 locations in Queens and hundreds more throughout the five boroughs, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced at a press conference in the Bronx Wednesday. The Mayor’s announcement…
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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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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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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Mar. 27, 2023 By Ethan Marshall Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that New York state’s first woman-owned conditional adult-use retail cannabis dispensary will open in Queens on Thursday. The cannabis shop Good Grades, located at 162-03 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica, is scheduled to open at 2 p.m. on March 30. In addition to being the…
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