A broad coalition of elected officials, civic leaders and Community Board 5 is calling on state regulators to reject a proposed adult-use cannabis dispensary in the heart of Maspeth, arguing that the location violates New York State’s mandated 500-foot buffer zone between dispensaries and schools.
The proposed dispensary would be located at 71-10 Grand Ave., a highly trafficked commercial corridor that sits just approximately 446 feet from the entrance of P.S. 58 – The School of Heroes, a K-5 public elementary school serving hundreds of local families. Under New York’s cannabis retail siting law (9 NYCRR § 119), dispensaries are prohibited from operating within 500 feet of a school entrance.
“There are rules for these shops for a reason, and we are confident that the State is not abiding by those rules,” said Council Member Robert Holden, who represents the area. “The community is opposed to this location, and we will continue to fight against it.”
Holden joins a coalition that includes U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, State Sen. Michael Gianaris, Assembly Member Steven Raga, Queens Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano, and two of Maspeth’s most established civic groups—the Juniper Park Civic Association and COMET (Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together) Civic Association. The coalition recently submitted a formal letter to the New York State Cannabis Control Board urging denial of the license application.
The group conducted independent measurements using a professional-grade Measure Master Roltape Corporation Measuring Wheel and concluded that the proposed dispensary entrance is only 446 feet from the school, 54 feet short of the legal minimum.
“Our concern is not with the law itself, but with the misapplication of the measurement criteria in this specific case,” the coalition stated in its letter. “This is not a matter of interpretation. The law is clear, and our independent measurement—based on publicly accessible reference points—shows that the applicant’s proposed location falls short of the required distance.”
According to state guidelines, the 500-foot buffer must be calculated as a straight line from the entrance of the dispensary to the entrance of the nearest school building. The coalition contends that state regulators from the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) may have used incorrect reference points or failed to account for an existing school entrance, thereby approving a location that is not legally permissible.
“We urge the Board to reevaluate the application based on accurate information and deny the license,” the letter concludes. “Protecting our children from unnecessary exposure to cannabis retail is a shared priority. In this case, the best way to uphold that principle is to follow the law exactly as written.”
If approved, the location would be among the first cannabis dispensaries in Maspeth, a neighborhood that has seen growing commercial development in recent years while maintaining a strong network of civic associations and local watchdogs.
The Cannabis Control Board, which oversees adult-use cannabis licensing in New York, has not yet issued a final decision on the application.
