8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Anable Basin plan looks to open new biz space
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
Design Center Realty, an affi liate of the
Plaxall company, plans to create 100,000
square feet of new, aff ordable manufacturing
Photo via NYC.gov
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space in Anable Basin to accommodate
the ever-present need that Long
Island City businesses have, and remedy
problems faced by businesses that have
left the neighborhood.
In April 2018, the LIC Partnership
released a snapshot of the neighborhood,
which showed that 39 percent of
newly opened businesses in the neighborhood
were in the manufacturing space.
New businesses in the area take up about
126,000 square feet, according to the LIC
Neighborhood Snapshot. Hundreds off
years ago, Long Island City became a
manufacturing hub in New York City.
Fast forward to 2018, and demands for
business space in the neighborhood have
not gone away.
In the past, displaced businesses in
Long Island City have had trouble reestablishing
themselves in the neighborhood
due to lack of space and increasing
rent prices. As a result,
businesses have had to move
their operations elsewhere,
including Long Island, New
Jersey and Brooklyn.
G r e e n p o i n t
Manufacturing and Design
Center (GMDC) is one of
the partners in the Anable
Basin proposal. Brian
Coleman, the chief executive
offi cer of GMDC, owns
a manufacturing space at
1250 Manhattan Ave. in
Greenpoint where some displaced
LIC businesses now
operate. Coleman estimated
that 40 to 50 percent of the
businesses in his Brooklyn
factory have been displaced
from Long Island City in
recent years.
Two such businesses are LF Upholstery
and MGH Studio. Both of these businesses
were previously located in LIC
and moved when their landlords sold the
buildings where they were located.
LF Upholstery, which specializes in custom
upholstery for designers and architects,
has been in business for nearly 30
years. According to an employee at the
company, they were located in a building
on 23rd Avenue in Long Island City. She
said that when the owners sold the building
where they operated, the rent
prices of the new spaces they were
looking at were “not conducive” to
their business.
MGH Studio has been run by
married couple Michele H. Glick-
Guarneri and Victor Guarneri
for nearly 20 years. According to
their website, they are a full-service
leather craft s shop specializing
in architectural leatherwork, restoration,
custom leatherwork and original
furniture design. Before moving
to Greenpoint, the couple said
their business was on 35th Avenue.
Th ey echoed the sentiments of LF
Upholstery saying that business
owners in LIC wanted to charge
them “$32 per square foot” for manufacturing
space.
In addition to the new manufacturing
space, according to their
rezoning proposal, Design Center Realty
plans to include a proposed school site,
art institutions, mixed-income housing
and waterfront access, which has not been
available to the public since the 19th century.
Part of the plans included in the Anable Basin proposal.
New medical marijuana dispensary set to open in this Queens neighborhood
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
Queens’ second medical marijuana dispensary
is set to open in Forest Hills this
summer.
Curaleaf New York announced today
that they would open a new medical
marijuana dispensary located in a
3,000-square-foot space at 107-18 70th
Rd. Th e brand-name dispensary is owned
and operated by PalliaTech NY, a subsidiary
of Pallia Tech LLC which has operations
in 11 states across the country.
Th e location for the dispensary was chosen
for its central retail location between
Queens Boulevard and Austin Street as
well as its proximity to multiple forms of
public transportation. Th e Curalef dispensary
is accessible by the Long Island
Rail Road, the E, F, M and R subway lines
and the Q23 bus, which will make it easier
for patrons to travel to the facility.
“Aft er successful openings in Newburgh
and Plattsburgh, we are thrilled to continue
the expansion of New York’s medical
marijuana program with our new
dispensary in Queens. Our focus is on
ensuring patients facing serious medical
issues have access to these important
treatments, and we look forward to
opening our doors and helping those in
need,” said Michelle Bodner, president of
PalliaTech NY.
Th e fi rst medical marijuana dispensary
in Queens is Vireo Health located at 89-55
Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst. Th e company
opened their business in January 2016 as
reported by QNS. Curaleaf joins Vireo
Health and four other companies as the
only facilities in the state that are legally
licensed to sell medical cannabis.
While the recreation use of cannabis is
not legalized in New York state, the use
of marijuana for certain health purposes
is allowed under the New York State
Department of Health’s medical marijuana
program. According to an offi -
cial statement from Curaleaf, the dispensary
will serve people from Queens
and surrounding boroughs who suff er
from chronic pain, Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), cancer and other conditions.
Th e NYSDOH requires all patients to
apply for a registry identifi cation card,
which allows them to visit any dispensing
facilities in New York state and purchase
approved medical marijuana products.
According to the company, patients
seeking relief for their ailments will be
able to obtain pharmaceutical-grade medical
cannabis in several forms, including
capsules, tablets, tinctures, oils and
under-the-tongue strips.
Additionally, Curaleaf is trying to get
approval to sell other products like ground
cannabis fl ower and transdermal patches.
Th e facility will be managed by a New
York-licensed pharmacist, and counselors
will be available onsite to advise patients
about the best treatments for them.
Curaleaf also has plans to open a facility
in Carle Place, the fourth dispensary
owned by the company on Long
Island. In addition to New York, the company
has facilities in 10 states, including
Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Florida and Arizona.
Photo courtesy of Curaleaf NY
Curaleaf is set to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Forest Hills.
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