Residents who live above Hoboken’s Hudson Tavern, a defunct bar, are coming out against the cannabis dispensary plan that has received preliminary approval from the city’s cannabis review board.
“We believe there are serious drawbacks to putting an adult Recreational Cannabis Dispensary that will operate 13 hours a day in a building where children and families live,” said Leslie Bradley, a resident of 51-53 14th Street.
“I caution the city council to be cognizant of the fact that what they are doing here on 14th Street will be precedent setting for the entire city. Once they allow marijuana retail and storage facilities in our building; what’s to stop other cannabis business from moving into similar buildings in similar neighborhoods.”
The proposal cleared the cannabis review board unanimously (3-0) at the end of February, with the meeting spanning five hours as dozens of residents spoke out against it – citing the potential for violent crime, a decrease in property values, and an opaque process.