On the morning of December 12, 2023, Manhattan East Community Association (MECA) participated in a press conference about illegal cannabis, hosted by New York State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein.
The speakers include (in order of remarks) Epstein, P.S. 140 PTA president Trisha Vega, MECA president Kevin O'Keefe, New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Manhattan Community Board 4 cannabis task force chair Jesse Greenwald, Housing Works vice president of community mobilization Anthony Feliciano and Manhattan Community Board 3 chair Andrea Gordillo. The nonprofit Housing Works operates the first licensed cannabis operation in the state, located on Broadway and 8th Street in Manhattan East.
The press conference was held at the storefront of an illegal cannabis retail operation on First Avenue and East 10th Street in Manhattan's East Village.
A press release from Epstein that accompanied the press conference starts, "Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, Council Member Carlina Rivera, and Senator Brian Kavanagh, gathered with community members outside of Go Green Dispensary on the corner of 10th Street and First Avenue to call on landlords to address the emergence of illegal smoke shops in Lower Manhattan. This illegal dispensary is close to multiple schools in the area including the East Side Community School and PS. 019 East Village Community School as well as a mosque on East 11th Street. Legal cannabis dispensaries are prohibited from operating within 500 feet of a school or 200 feet of a religious institution."
13 дек 2023
