The Upper West Side will soon have a new licensed cannabis dispensary, adding to the growing presence of licensed retailers in New York City. The Sanctuary Garden, located at 2610 Broadway between 98th and 99th Streets, is expected to launch in mid-to-late May, pending final permit approvals from the NYC Department of Buildings.
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Daron Hudson, the owner of Divine Kinnektion, will be operating the dispensary under the name The Sanctuary Garden. “We will have legalized tested products in our store, ranging from vapes, to flowers, to edibles,” Hudson said. “We’re also going to carry some hemp and CBD. Some brands will be minority-owned, some will be from mom-and-pop manufacturers.”
Hudson, who has a history with the neighborhood, cited personal ties as a reason for choosing this location. “I have an affinity with the UWS. I used to go to school there, I went to John Jay College,” he told ILTUWS. “I still frequent it. It’s like a home away from home.”
The storefront was most recently occupied by Sister Salon. The Sanctuary Garden will be part of New York State’s Social and Economic Equity (SEE) program, which prioritizes licensing for individuals from communities disproportionately affected by past drug policies. As a SEE license holder, Hudson is among those receiving state support to establish legal cannabis businesses.
The Sanctuary Garden will be the fourth licensed cannabis dispensary to open on the Upper West Side, following The Flowery, Just A Little Higher, and Flower Power Dispensers. Its arrival comes as city and state officials, including Council Member Gale Brewer, continue efforts to shut down unlicensed cannabis stores operating illegally in the neighborhood.
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Your products are exactly the same as all the other dispensaries. Your opportunity to distinguish yourself is by price. Do so and the customers will come. Otherwise all these places are interchangeable.
A Canabis store next to an SRO for ex cons – what could go wrong? This whole block is a disaster. I guess at least “Best Budz” will actually need to close.
The absolute worst place on the UWS to put a Cannabis shop. Right next to the Huntersmoon Hall, by Lantern homeless housing SRO. That block already has open air drug dealing that attracts junkies and drunks. This will only add to the “atmosphere”.
The legal shops look like fancy coffee shops and don’t attract criminals. If anything this will reduce what you call open air drug dealing.