North Hempstead officials object to pot shops opening in Queens, near town border

For months, some North Hempstead Town residents have feared the planned opening of a cannabis shop on the other side of New Hyde Park's border with Queens.

The dispensary — HerbHub LLC on Union Turnpike — could lead to young people smoking marijuana, they have said, and an increase in crime. Then, early this month, a different dispensary — Green Flower Wellness on Hillside Avenue — opened just over the border, intensifying those concerns.

In North Hempstead, recreational cannabis sales are prohibited. The town board voted to ban the sale of recreational cannabis, and smoking tobacco or cannabis on town property, in December 2021. In Queens, however, cannabis sales are allowed.

“Nobody knew it was coming,” Bill Cutrone, president of the Lakeville Estates Civic Association, said of Green Flower in an interview. “We’re concerned about our teenagers having access to it."

New Hyde Park borders Queens. The two shops, once HerbHub opens, would bookend Langdale Street and sit feet from the Nassau-Queens border.

Supervisor Jennifer DeSena served as executive director of the Manhasset Coalition Against Substance Abuse before running for town office. She said in a statement Wednesday that the location of the shops is an “obvious and blatant attempt to market cannabis products” in the town.

“This flies completely in the face of the Governor’s assertions that local government would be permitted to regulate cannabis sales,” DeSena said in the statement. “This is yet one more loophole. In that light I’ve already spoken to our state representatives about the possibility of creating some type of buffer area that will protect our quality of life."

Inside Green Flower on Wednesday, a man who identified himself as the owner declined to comment on the criticism. Mukesh Patel, one of the co-owners of HerbHub, also declined to comment when reached by phone.

Both shops have active licenses with the state, according to Taylor Randi Lee, press secretary for the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.

Christine Liu, a councilwoman whose district includes New Hyde Park, said in an interview she had “serious concerns” about the two shops.

“This situation, right on the border, really undermines the intent of our community’s decision, and the valid objections they have,” Liu said. “Unfortunately, we border Queens. ... We can’t do anything about it at the town.”

Cutrone said he understands the perspective of those who support the shops: The products in the dispensaries are regulated and safer than those sold by street dealers, he said. But he added that his concerns override the potential benefits. Teenagers could stand outside the shops and ask older people to purchase cannabis products on their behalf, he said.

“I’m sure they have a million and one friends who could sell it to them, but if it’s not readily available, maybe that one or two people that are on the cusp may not want to do it,” Cutrone said. “Now, they see it all over the place, it’s legal, let me smoke some dope.”

For now, HerbHub, formerly occupied by a Citibank, sits dormant. It's next to a convenience store, Smoke Vape & Lotto, where a giant faux rolling paper hangs from the ceiling, and bongs, pipes and vapes are sold.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.