The owner of a well-known pet shop in Astoria has become the first person to get Community Board 1 approval to open a legal cannabis dispensary in the neighborhood.
Keith Dalessio, whose family has operated Astoria Pets on Steinway Street for around 40 years, appeared before the board’s executive committee via Zoom on Monday to field questions about his upcoming cannabis store, which he said is expected to open within three to four months.
The new store will be called Blaze Astoria and will open at 32-60 Steinway St., a space that was previously occupied by the fitness studio Lucille Roberts.
“I’m very excited about this and very enthusiastic about it,” Dalessio said at the April 3 meeting. “I’m comfortable doing it in a town that I love and appreciate. I really want to shine, I want to be a beacon and I want to be the gold standard of the cannabis dispensary in New York.”
Read the full story on astoriapost.com.
![From left to right: [identifying], Sofia Pajaj, Program Director of HANAC Harmony JVL Older Adult Center, NY State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Andrea Jerves, Director of Programming and Development at HANAC, and House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, NY-14](https://queenspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_7647.jpg?w=1024)
