Officials call for cannabis shop 'buffer zone' along Nassau-NYC border

Republican state lawmakers in Nassau County are seeking to create a "buffer zone" inside municipalities that permit cannabis shops to operate so the shops aren't adjacent to communities that don't allow them — a move the state's Democratic Party chairman called "political showmanship."

State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) introduced a bill Wednesday that would create a quarter-mile buffer zone on the Queens side of the borough's border with Nassau. The bill also would create buffer zones along borders inside towns such as Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton, where cannabis dispensaries and consumption spots would be prohibited. 

“State law will allow this shop to be right here on the border,” Martins said at a news conference Friday, standing in front of the building where a cannabis dispensary is expected to open in Queens, steps away from North Hempstead, where the shops are not permitted. “And make no mistake, it does put our communities at risk, it does target our children, and it does target the communities that ... were given the option of opting out.”

Martins said New York City may permit cannabis stores, but they shouldn’t be “in our backyard, not so close to our communities, not so close to our families.”

Hempstead Town, also along the Queens border, also doesn't permit the shops. When New York State legalized the sale of cannabis, it gave municipalities the opportunity to opt out of permitting shops or consumption sites within their jurisdiction.

Political divide

Martins' bill is certain to meet resistance in the Democratic-controlled State Legislature. And Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled Friday that the proposal was a nonstarter.

“Governor Hochul understands how Long Island communities cherish local control, which is why she believes every municipality deserves the opportunity to make their own decision on cannabis retail dispensaries within their borders," Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper said in an email.

The notion that Hempstead and North Hempstead could get Albany to impose their decisions regarding cannabis on a corridor in Queens didn’t sit well with Democratic Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.

“These officials are obviously spending their money in our borough's cannabis shops, because they must be high if they think Nassau County has any right to legislate what kind of licensed business can open here in Queens County,” Richards’ spokesman Chris Barca said in an email. 

In the Town of Babylon, where legal cannabis stores have opened, including one near the Huntington Town border, town spokesman Ryan Bonner said in an email the town will review the proposal. “But our position would be that another municipality can't tell us what to do in our borders,” Bonner said.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr., a Republican, speaking at the news conference with Martins, called the permitting of cannabis shops on the Queens-Nassau border a “loophole” that allowed store owners to target customers in North Hempstead and Hempstead.

“We can't have these kinds of shenanigans taking place where people are opening these shops on the borders,” Clavin said.

On Friday, Clavin downplayed the significance of Albany challenging local control. "That's what the state has done over and over, stuck its nose into zoning,” he said.

Jay Jacobs, state and Nassau County chair of the Democratic Party, called the proposal “pure Republican political showmanship.”

"Once again, Nassau Republicans demonstrate their great capacity for hypocrisy as they look to ask Albany to overturn local control when they have for months now argued the opposite,” Jacobs said in an interview. “I would suggest that if Don Clavin really wants to do something that will help people, he should roll back his 12% property tax increase,” referring to the 12.1% tax levy increase the town adopted in its 2025 budget. 

The proposal also would create buffers between villages and unincorporated parts of towns that differ over whether they permitted cannabis shops.

Mixed reaction on LI

Reaction across Long Island varied. In Smithtown, where cannabis shops are not permitted, Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said in a statement that he supports Martins’ bill.

“The current law allows cannabis establishments to be placed directly on the borders of opt-out communities, undermining the intent of our local government and the voice of our residents,” Wehrheim said. “This bill is a necessary step in protecting the integrity of municipal decisions while ensuring that our quality of life, community character, and public safety remain a priority.” 

In Riverhead, where they are permitted, Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard, in a statement, declined to comment on the “acts or actions of adjoining towns” but said all towns and villages may adopt laws to protect health, safety and welfare within the boundaries of their respective towns.

“The Town of Riverhead did not opt out and did adopt laws for time, place and manner and intend to exercise said rights within the jurisdictional borders of the Town of Riverhead,” Hubbard said. 

With Keshia Clukey