New York Cannabis Law section 72 plus the NYC Zoning Resolution require adult-use cannabis dispensaries to sit at least 500 feet from school grounds and 200 feet from houses of worship, measured from the nearest entrance, with extra spacing rules in dense Manhattan blocks.
Cannabis Law section 72(2) bars the Cannabis Control Board from licensing any retail dispensary within 500 feet of school grounds or within 200 feet of a building used exclusively as a house of worship. Distances are measured from the principal entrance to the nearest point of the protected use along the most direct pedestrian route. The NYC Zoning Resolution adds use-group classification under section 32-25, and the city sheriff has padlock authority for dispensaries operating in violation of buffer rules. Applicants in dense neighborhoods like Midtown or Downtown Brooklyn often need site plan submissions to OCM showing measured distances.
Operating a dispensary inside the 500-foot school or 200-foot worship buffer violates Cannabis Law section 72 and triggers license denial or revocation by OCM, plus padlocking under Admin Code section 7-551 enforced by the NYC Sheriff for unlicensed operators.
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New York, NY
The 2021 Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act created the NY Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management, which give 50% licensing priority to ...
New York, NY
NYC Zoning Resolution section 32-25 classifies cannabis dispensaries as Use Group 6 retail and confines them to C1, C2, C4, C6, and certain M1 commercial dis...
New York, NY
Cannabis dispensaries in NYC require a state OCM license and must comply with local zoning. NYC Zoning Resolution allows dispensaries in commercial (C) and m...
See how New York's buffer zones rules stack up against other locations.
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