Numerous marijuana dispensaries might not learn whether they can start operations in New York for at least another two weeks.
In the courtroom, four veterans contended that state legislation had not been followed when evaluating their applications for cannabis licenses. One of the categories given higher consideration by state authorities when deciding whether to provide a cannabis license is veterans. The state Office of Cannabis Management, or OCM, prioritizes people with prior marijuana convictions in New York over veterans, though. All of these soldiers have perfect records.
The state organization in charge of issuing licenses is OCM. The state lawmakers simply authorized guidelines for conditional licenses, the assistant attorney general said in court on behalf of OCM, and left it up to OCM to decide how licenses are actually awarded. The judge said the two sides must cooperate to ensure that no one is harmed by the license application procedure but refrained from rendering a decision.
Spectrum News reported that Hal McCabe, the Cannabis Association of New York’s interim executive director, released a statement in which he expressed disappointment with the court’s decision today and stated that “this injunction continues to threaten tens of thousands of jobs, thousands of businesses, and the entire industry as a whole.”
He stated, referring to corporate cannabis companies, “It really is them and their interests against the entire New York State licensed marijuana cannabis market.” That’s how easy it is. Right now, we are experiencing a true David and Goliath moment right now.”.
This editorial appeared recently in Crain’s New York Business.
Illegal smoke shops are out of control in the city. It makes sense to call on landlords to help stymie their proliferation by requiring them to not knowingly lease their storefronts to such vendors.
The illegal market has quickly outpaced the legal market. According to senior reporter Aaron Elstein, there are about 8,000 unlicensed stores citywide, compared to just 21 licensed retail dispensaries across the state. Only five of those are located in the city, according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.
It’s understandable how the problem grew so quickly; landlords were eager to lease shuttered storefronts to paying tenants during the pandemic, and there wasn’t exactly a surplus of takers to choose from. Plus, no one anticipated that the rollout of cannabis licenses would be so glacially slow.
Landlords can now be fined up to $10,000 for knowingly renting store space to illegal cannabis sellers under a new law that went into effect Aug. 14. Under the two-strike system, if a raid finds illegal activity, the sheriff’s office will first notify a landlord that they are renting to an illegal business. If the store is found to still be operating in subsequent inspections, the landlord will receive a $5,000 fine. For each subsequent failed inspection, the landlord will get fined an additional $10,000.
This was a wise move by the city, as the problem has reached a point where the private sector must step in to make sure the underground industry does not get even more out of hand. Plus, officials have taken initial steps, like raids to seize the illegal goods themselves, before they decided to involve landlords.
It’s encouraging that the Real Estate Board of New York is also in favor of the legislation, with Steve Soutendijk, co-chair of REBNY’s New York retail committee and commercial broker with Cushman & Wakefield calling it a “commonsense law” which will “keep bad actors out of commercial spaces and help ensure that real estate brokers and property owners are working with properly licensed retail establishments,” at a recent press conference.
Landlords are generally not allowed to lease their spaces to illegal businesses, and smoke shops selling much more than bongs are no exception.
Not only are many smoke shops engaging in illicit activities, they are undercutting the legal cannabis business which was designed to infuse more money into the state’s economy while decriminalizing marijuana and aiding equity goals.
Ideally, the state will become quicker at getting licenses into the hands of cannabis retailers so that they can conduct business legally. Until then, the city must use all tools available to keep the smoke shop issue at bay.
RXR, one of the New York metropolitan area’s largest owners of Class A office and multifamily residential communities, is pleased to announce a 25-year lease extension with global law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Davis Polk). As part of the renewal, Davis Polk will be expanding its footprint at 450 Lexington Avenue by an additional floor, adding 30,000 square feet. The firm’s new footprint at the building will be over 700,000 square feet, constituting the largest lease in New York City in 2023 to date.
The 40-story Class A office tower, located conveniently near Grand Central Terminal between 44th and 45th Streets, is in a prime transit-oriented submarket that continues to be an attractive office destination for current and future employers. 450 Lexington was completed in 1991 and remains one of the newest and most impeccably maintained properties in midtown.
“Davis Polk’s long-term commitment to 450 Lexington Avenue is another example that New York City’s office market is here to stay,” said RXR Chairman and CEO Scott Rechler. “As the needs of employers and the nature of work evolves, we are working constantly to ensure our spaces are keeping up with those changing demands. We are thrilled that Davis Polk has once again committed to making 450 Lexington Avenue its home in New York City.”
In connection with the lease, RXR and its partners are investing over $300 million for extensive capital improvements throughout the building common areas and across Davis Polk’s 23 floors. The planned renovations will encompass the full modernization of lobbies and workspaces, including the addition of numerous amenities inside of Davis Polk’s premises focused on improving employees’day-to-day experiences and addressing their evolving needs.
Overall, the entire building will see extensive upgrades in the lobbies and elevators that include modern and timeless aesthetics that are harmonious with the building’s historic structure. Renovations are being designed by global architecture, design, and planning firm Gensler. New space configurations, lighting, finishes, and added architectural features such as striking stone, glass, and wood materials will complement feature ceiling elements and modern glazed entryways.
“We are thrilled that 450 Lex will continue to be our long-term home going forward and we are grateful for RXR’s collaboration in reaching a mutually acceptable outcome in the context of a challenging and difficult market environment,” said Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s Chair and Managing Partner. “We are embarking on a truly exciting, complete renovation that will transform the look and feel of our office and offer the Davis Polk community a uniquely modern, welcoming and collaborative space.”
The building’s “Sky Lobby” will also receive a full remodel. It will include private outdoor terraces and Loggia spaces for Davis Polk featuring new indoor/outdoor space, operable doors, seating, and planting. Additionally, Davis Polk will create new gathering spaces, meeting spaces, and culinary options throughout the firm’s premises.
“RXR is delighted to continue our longstanding relationship with Davis Polk,” said William Elder, EVP, Managing Director of RXR’s New York City Division. “450 Lexington Avenue is a dynamic asset with floorplates that allow for adaptability and creativity. Through our planned enhancements and infrastructure updates for the entire building to enjoy, including the reimagined offices and enhancements for Davis Polk’s headquarters, this office tower will continue to serve as a modern workplace destination.”
The Redbury Hotel, a landmark hotel in NoMad, began housing migrants earlier this month amid the city’s ongoing struggle to house more than 57,000 asylum seekers each night. The Union Square Hospitality Group — run by Meyer — has since confirmed that Marta and Maialino (vicino), which are both located in the lobby of the hotel, will have their last service on August 25.
“As tenants of the Redbury, our two restaurants, which occupy the lobby floor, have been eagerly anticipating the hotel’s full post-pandemic reopening. Now, as the Redbury partners with the City to house asylum seekers, it’s become clear that the timeline for that reopening has been extended indefinitely.”
“While we admire and respect the Redbury’s decision, the viability of our business relies significantly on hotel-related F&B operations, including event venues and the lobby bar, spaces that are now unavailable for our use,” added the statement from USHG.
Meyer has previously advocated for expedited work permits for the tens of thousands of migrants pouring into the Big Apple, saying a labor shortage had prevented him from opening Maialino for lunch service.
“We remain fully supportive of the Redbury’s initiative and will continue advocating for policy change that expedites work permits for asylum seekers,” the hospitality group’s statement said.
Maialino, a restaurant and wine bar that previously operated out of the Gramercy Park Hotel, began doing business out of the Redbury last fall as Maialino (vicino) as Eater first reported.Marta and Maialino (vicino), both located inside the historic Redbury, will reportedly have their last service on August 25.Robert Miller
The second restaurant, Marta, a pizzeria, opened in 2014 when the Redbury was the Martha Washington Hotel. The hotel underwent a rebrand when it was bought for $158 million in 2015.
A spokesperson said the hospitality group was actively looking to find new locations for both restaurants, as well as job placements for all employees impacted by the closures.
A waiter working tables at a packed Marta on Tuesday wouldn’t say if he or his coworkers were upset or angry by the closures, instead insisting they were “figuring it out as we go.”The restaurants’ departures comes as the city struggles to house the influx of migrants seeking asylum in the city.
“We’re all eligible to leave or go to another restaurant that our restaurant group owns,” the waiter told The Post. “They own like 19 other restaurants in NYC. So theoretically, it’s a seamless transition.”
The group owns a slew of top restaurants in the city, including Gramercy Tavern and Manhatta.Migrants recently were forced to sleep outside another Manhattan hotel, which had become full.
Downtown Manhattan is about to get a big dose of upstate New York.
Almost exactly two years after the Rochester-based grocery giant Wegmans announced it would debut its first-ever Manhattan location in the former Kmart on Astor Place during the second half of 2023, now comes word of its specific opening date. And, just like the company said in 2021, it’s right on target.
The two-level, 87,500-square-foot store — located in the 1907-built 770 Broadway — will open for business on Oct. 18 at 9 a.m., according to a company release.
It’s the first Wegmans location in Manhattan, but not the first within city limits.
“We know our customers can’t wait to come see what we have in store and our employees have been training, in some cases, for over a year to get ready for this day,” says store manager Matt Dailor in the release. “Wegmans is a celebration of food and people, and we can’t wait to open the doors on October 18 to our community here in the East Village.”
On Oct. 27, 2019, almost exactly four years before the opening of this Astor Place spread, Wegmans made its Big Apple debut across the East River in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which remains open.
Ever since the company announced its forthcoming Astor Place location, the space has been decorated with company designs. Now, windows bear logos — as do docking stations for Citi Bike right in front.The new store runs two levels at 770 Broadway in the former Kmart space.The new store is still in the works, and will have one floor for prepared foods and the lower level for grocery staples.Visitors will recognize the interior design of Wegmans, though this one will have unique elements in its decorative windows resembling the building’s own architectural details.Under rainy skies, the Brooklyn Wegmans opened in October 2019.The Brooklyn opening drew crowds of fans to the store.“Wegmaniacs” loaded up on their favorite products, which will also happen when the Manhattan location opens this fall.
The bulk of Wegmans locations are in New York State — spanning from Buffalo to a forthcoming store in Long Island’s Suffolk County — with plenty of others in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Virginia and North Carolina. Future stores, according to the Wegmans website, will include one in Norwalk, Connecticut — which will be the first to open in that state.
The grand opening of the Astor Place behemoth comes full circle after summer 2021 saw speculation that Wegmans would move into the former Kmart, which shut abruptly in July 2021. Published reports, as well as Reddit chatter, said the space would be replaced by a “first-class regional grocer,” leading many curious minds to offer their guesses of Wegmans, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.
What customers can expect: fresh sushi, sandwiches, pizza and even Mediterranean bites from the “Mezze” section. What’s more, in the first half of 2024, visitors will also have an on-site dining room with a sushi bar, as well as a Champagne and oyster bar.
Similar to Trader Joe’s, Wegmans has long attracted a cult following — particularly among natives of Western and Central New York who grew up chowing down on its fresh, and reasonably priced, food.88
The loyalty was so strong for some upstate natives that, despite living in New York City, they’d drive 330 miles home to Rochester to load up on several months worth of groceries to cart back to Manhattan. Others deliberately rented apartments or bought homes near the closest Wegmans stores — and not just for breezy shopping, but also for nostalgia.
Longtime customer favorites include the brand’s ginger-flavored sparkling water, the cave-ripened Cremeux de Bourgogne cheese, chocolate-dipped chocolate chip cookies that sandwich flavored buttercream frosting and, this being an upstate brand, its Buffalo wings.
There were signs of change at 606 9th Avenue (between W43rd/W44th Street) this week, where a smoke shop vanished this week after a court case between landlords and Citi Deli Corp — more recently known as Milky Way Exotics — was decided in favor of the landlords this January. The building’s owners filed suit against the tenants for defaulting on their lease terms in December 2022, alleging that Citi Deli Corp “had impermissibly altered the use of the premises by ‘including the sale of smoking supplies,’ thereby ‘changing the nature of the retail sales’ from a grocery/convenience store into a ‘smoke shop.’”
The owners of Citi Deli Corp argued that while they were selling unlicensed smoking-related products, they had continued ‘to stock and sell grocery store items and lightly prepared foodstuffs’… in compliance with the lease.” Photos of the store renamed as Milky Way Exotics convinced officials otherwise, and the “deli” was ordered to vacate. According to local sources, the sheriff’s office raided the establishment on April 10, although the shop reopened April 11 and remained in business until this week. W42ST has reached out to the plaintiffs for further comment on the case and will update if we hear back.
Before eviction (photo from W42ST.NYC)After eviction (photo from W42ST.NYC)
The brand-new ground-floor LIDL grocery store plans to work with Hire NYC to hire locals when it opens in the early months of 2026. Numerous employment opportunities will be generated by the store for the neighborhood. Lidl, which has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, has now signed a second lease in Manhattan. The community responded favorably to its February 2022 debut in Harlem. The store will provide value, a straightforward and effective shopping experience, as well as sections for meats, seafood, fresh produce, flowers, and other daily grocery essentials. On the east coast, Lidl runs more than 170 stores, including 25 in New York State. At the moment, Lidl has locations in Astoria, Queens, Staten Island, and Harlem in New York City.
“MAG Partners and Lidl U.S. announced a lease for an approximately 23,000-square-foot grocery store at 335 Eighth Avenue, a mixed-income apartment building being developed within the Penn South campus, an affordable housing cooperative located in the Chelsea community of Manhattan, N.Y.
30% of the 188 apartments in the residential building are designated for low- and middle-income New Yorkers as part of the Affordable NY Program. Construction is anticipated to start in the third quarter of 2023, with on-site demolition set to start in May.
The local pizza chain Little Italy has opened a new location at 671 8th Avenue next to the Port Authority bus terminal. They join Mc Donald’s, 7-11, Smashburger and Chick-fil-A in the landmarked building that formerly included Duane Reade and Show World.
