Osbert Orduña, chief executive officer of The Cannabis Place, speaks at the Community Board 5 public hearings portion of the night.
Photo by Anthony Medina
The potential arrival of a legal adult-use cannabis dispensary in Middle Village divided board members and the public during an hours-long Community Board 5 meeting at Christ the King High School on Wednesday, June 14.
During the public hearings portion of the meeting, Osbert Orduña, chief executive officer of The Cannabis Place — the legal cannabis dispensary planning to open at the old Chase Bank location on 74-03 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village — spoke to board members in an attempt to alleviate any concerns brought by the public.
The Cannabis Place currently operates as a fully licensed cannabis delivery service for Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, according to its website.
Board members grilled Orduña with questions, asking for clarity on why the Metropolitan Avenue location was chosen, how the business plans to prevent potential criminal activity and what will be done to limit the exposure of cannabis products to minors.
“… Based on our data of clients, which comes down specifically to zip code and address, we know that there is actually a large concentration of our current clients that utilize our delivery service that live both in Middle Village and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Orduña said in response to a question on why the business chose the Metropolitan area, which was met with applause from some in the audience.
Orduña also verified the placement of an airport-style screening device that will be used inside the facility for safety and to prevent minors from entering. He also said anyone under 21 years old will not have access to the dispensary, regardless of who accompanies them.
The windows on the exterior of the building will also be designed to prevent passersby to see inside the establishment. Additionally, both unarmed and…
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