Astoria's First Legal Cannabis Shop Gets Green Light In Board Meeting

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A group in Astoria's community board approved the opening of the first legal cannabis dispensary in the neighborhood during a meeting on Monday.

Blaze Astoria, set to open on Steinway Street, received approval from Community Board 1's Executive Board on Monday, making it the first dispensary to receive a green light to set up shop.

"The executive board was happy to review the business," District Manager Florence Koulouris told Patch. "The bigger concerns seem to be the unlicensed business models and the effects they have on the community."

The move comes a week after Queens opened its first legal retail dispensary in Jamaica.

The owner of Blaze Astoria will be Don D'Alessio, manager of the beloved neighborhood shop Astoria Pets, according to The Astoria Post.

A bill banning the sales of dogs, cats and rabbits at all retail pet stores, taking effect in December 2024, blanketed Astoria Pets with uncertainty over what would happen to the shop.

The cannabis dispensary will now have to get the Community Board's approval in the next meeting scheduled for April 18.