As New York cannabis retail licensing proceeds at a snail’s pace, countless businesses are openly selling marijuana products out of unlicensed stores and smoke shops. It is obvious to anyone walking through New York City that the city has been unable to reign in these “businesses.” After allegedly sending cease and desist notices to those business, the city is now targeting landlords of those retail spaces.
New York City’s lawsuits against unlicensed cannabis dispensary landlords
This week, the City began filing lawsuits against unlicensed dispensaries and their landlords. One litigation that is a good example of the tactics and strategy the city is utilizing is The City of New York v. The Land and Building Known as 14 First Avenue, et al., Index No: 450378/2023 (“Land Building”.) The suit alleges that undercover, underage police officers bought marijuana at each of the shops on three occasions in December and those premises did not have a CAURD license to sell marijuana.
In each filing, the city demands financial penalties from both the landlords and store owners. The City is relying on the same public nuisance laws that usually are used when landlord refuse or fail to evict tenants that operate brothels and
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