Trends Cannabis Dispensary to Open in Long Island City
By Abigail Nehring March 28, 2024 6:48 pm
reprints
Long Island City, Queens, is about to get a bit greener.
Trends Dispensaries signed a 15-year lease for 6,000 square feet at 27-25 44th Drive in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, the third licensed recreational weed shop to open in the neighborhood.
Asking rent was $80 per square foot, according to New York Business Journal, which first reported the deal.
Trends plans to open at the base of the residential building later this spring, according to the Business Journal.
Cannabis entrepreneurs and brothers Rodney and Brandon Carter decided to get in on the state’s budding weed market after realizing their past convictions for cannabis offenses would make them eligible to apply for New York’s early-bird round of dispensary licenses, according to an interview with the brothers. New York State’s license system prioritizes people impacted by cannabis prohibition and their families.
As they waited for the green light from state officials, the duo launched a podcast, “Trends and Friends,” in which they expound upon their joint love of cannabis and discuss their efforts to end the stigma surrounding the plant.
For their dispensary, the brothers partnered with Housing Works, which provided Trends with startup funding and will receive a percentage of its profits, according to its website.
The nonprofit thrift store chain founded by AIDS activists in the 1980s was the first licensee to get a legal cannabis dispensary up and running in 2022.
It’s unclear how much funding Housing Works provided the Long Island City dispensary. A spokesperson for the nonprofit did not respond to a request for comment. Trends also did not respond to requests for comment.
Trends will be the 93rd licensed dispensary to open in New York and the third to open in Long Island City, according to the state cannabis office. That includes NYCBUD at 44-45 Vernon Boulevard and Freshly Baked NYC, a delivery-only dispensary based in the neighborhood.
Ripco Real Estate’s Eric Fisher arranged the deal for Trends but declined to comment. It’s unclear who brokered the deal for landlord Greystar.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
