By Celia Bernhardt | cbernhardt@queensledger.com

State Assemblyperson Jenifer Rajkumar held a rally with State Senator Leroy Comrie and about 20 supporters on the steps of City Hall on Friday to call for the SMOKEOUT Act to be included in the State’s enacted budget. 

The SMOKEOUT (Stop Marijuana Overproliferation and Keep Empty Operators of Unlicensed Transactions) Act, first introduced in early January, is Rajkumar’s proposed fix to the state’s bumpy rollout of cannabis legalization and the proliferation of thousands of illegal, unlicensed smoke shops through the five boroughs. Under the proposed rule, local municipalities would have the power to shutter illegal shops and seize all merchandise. Currently, that power is reserved for the State’s Office of Cannabis Management, which has only 14 inspectors statewide. 

“I think all New Yorkers feel right now like they’re high, because they look at the situation and it makes no sense,” Rajkumar said at the rally. “There are 1000 times more illegal shops than there are legal shops. There’s only about 60 legal shops in the whole state. And there’s 36,000 illegal shops. How can this be? Am I high right now?”

Comrie told the crowd that the issue was consistently top of mind among his constitutents. “Every meeting I attend, everywhere I go, people want to see these places shut down,” he said. “The ones that have been inspected, they found rat feces in the basement. They found other chemicals that are being mixed in with the marijuana. You don’t know what you’re getting. You’re not getting it from a safe supplier.”

Rajkumar’s office estimates there are about 1,500 illegal shops in New York City alone. Previous estimates cited by Council Member Lyn Schulman this past summer put that number much higher, at 8,000. Mayor Eric Adams has claimed that if Rajkumar’s legislation is enacted, the city could shut down every illegal shop in 30 days. 

“The state budget is due on April 1. That’s five and a half weeks from today. On April 1, I don’t want to be standing here saying ‘April Fools,’” Rajumar said. “I want to be standing here saying ‘we have put the SMOKEOUT Act in the state budget.’”

By Ana Borruto | news@queensledger.com

Silk Road NYC celebrated multiple milestones at its grand opening at 166-30 Jamaica Ave in Queens, including being the first Bangladeshi-owned cannabis dispensary in New York and the 75th legal adult-use business to open in the state’s cannabis landscape. 

Dozens of family, friends and legal cannabis advocates gathered at 166-30 Jamaica Ave. on Friday, Feb. 23 to show support for owner and Jamaica, Queens native Sohan Bashar.

From sourcing cannabis through underground channels on the dark web to serving an eight-month lockup in Rikers Island Correctional Facility after being arrested in college, the road to success has not been an easy one for Bashar. 

However, the dispensary’s name serves as a reminder of his past in the legacy cannabis market and how far he has come to obtain his legal license. 

“I’ve always been dealt that kind of hand, and this is a restorative justice kind of feeling,” Bashar said. “It is a dream come true and for the laws that were changed, it will bring about a much better society — more accepting of cannabis, not criminalizing it.” 

Bashar said going from a full-time college student to a prison cell was a “brutal” experience. However, over a decade later, now with his wife Marina Gerard, their two-year-old daughter Sophie and another baby on the way, the business owner felt it was a crucial time to pivot to the legal cannabis market. 

The initial step was to begin the application process for a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries license — also known as CAURD — which is intended for individuals convicted of marijuana-related offenses before the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed in March 2021. These applicants also must have run a successful business for at least two years. 

In November 2022, the first round of approved CAURD licenses for retail dispensaries and at the end of that same year, the first legal sales of cannabis commenced. 

However, securing a CAURD license requires extensive documentation, so the overall process is a lengthy one. Additionally, an injunction imposed by the New York State Supreme Court in August 2023 derailed hundreds of licensees from opening their dispensaries. 

Even with this obstacle, Bashar remained optimistic, and with the help of cannabis attorney Jeffrey Hoffman, the Jamaica resident received his provisional license in January 2023 and his full license just a month ago. 

“The journey [Bashar has] been on over the last year is unparalleled,” said Damion Fagon, chief equity officer for the Office of Cannabis Management. “This is literally what the [Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act] was written for — for guys like Sohan to build stores in their own communities.” 

Since being licensed, Bashar has independently funded Silk Road NYC’s entire operation, negotiated his rent and completed the build out by himself. The dispensary also sells a variety of high-quality products, including pre-rolls, edibles, vapes, flowers and topicals — all of which Bashar said he tested out before putting them on the shelves. 

Both Bashar and his wife were adamant about opening their business in the neighborhood he grew up in. As a member of Jamaica’s Bangladeshi community, Bashar said Silk Road NYC will serve as a representation of his cultural heritage. 

It was also important to Bashar to hire knowledgeable staff and surround himself with like-minded advisors — like Amy Chin, Annette Fernandez and Kassia Graham of the High Exposure Consulting Agency — who believe in proper cannabis education, as well as challenging the negative connotations surrounding cannabis use. 

“We know in the Bangladeshi community, there is still a lot of stigma around cannabis,” Fernandez said. “I think Sohan is here to break that stigma and raise education and awareness around how important this plant is — that it’s medicinal and healing.” 

Gerard emphasized the importance of her and Bashar’s role in the local cannabis industry, not just as entrepreneurs, but as “advocates for diversity, inclusion and social justice.” 

She could not help but feel emotional talking about Bashar’s inspiring story, which she said is a testament to his resilience and hard work to establish a long-lasting legacy for his family. 

“Everyday, he exemplifies what it means to push boundaries, overcome challenges and strive for excellence,” Gerard said, through tears. “This man is literally a force of nature.” 

By Justin Joseph | news@queensledger.com 

On Saturday the NYPD and FDNY gathered together at Maspeth High School, to compete in their third annual “Battle of the Badges” volleyball match aimed to commemorate the fallen heroes lost in the line of duty throughout the years.

This year’s theme was “Fidelity to Duty” which the event’s organizer and FDNY coach Gerry Matacotta explains means a lot to the force.

“We do our work in the community and we also have fidelity to our fellow officers, so this does both of those things,” Matacotta stated about the event.

Matacotta started this event three years ago after he successfully had a Battle of the Badges event with police and fire departments from New England and New York City at the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts. He then brought the idea to New York City after seeing the success and the positive turnout of the event and has continued the tradition ever since.

Matacotta loves the aspect of bringing the community together in order to showcase the fun side of the police and fire departments and to let people know that they are humans as well, who can have fun from time to time. For a small fee of $ 10 per person, with kids being free, the community gathers together in order to support their local city heroes.

“This community is very pro police, very pro FDNY because they know the importance of these first responders,” Matacotta said.

The president of the NYPD volleyball team, Officer Malcolm Brissett-Ortiz, also stresses the importance of the event for the officers and fire fighters as well.

“It’s good for the mental health, for the well-being, to take them away from work for a little bit,” Brissett-Ortiz said.

“Work is stressful sometimes and to have something for them to put them off of work is great to see.”

Joe Armenio, Director of the AAU Urban Initiative, helps to sponsor the event and raised money for the game to take place the past three years.

“Anyway we can help we always try to get involved. We would make a donation for them and they would use it how they see fit,” Armenio said.

The NYPD earned another victory for the third straight year beating the FDNY three sets to one by the scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-16 and 26-24. The crowd was electric throughout the entire night, with sections of people cheering for family members and even strangers who were participating in the event. It was another success for the Battle of the Badges but Matacotta  never wants anyone to lose sight of the true spirit of the event. He never forgets what makes this day so special to all those who attend the event every year.

“We remember our fallen heroes, whether they are police or fire [fighters]… we never forget them. In other words, even though we are playing here, even though this is a happy day, we don’t forget the people that permitted us to be here by giving up their lives.”