HUNTS POINT — A medical marijuana dispensary slated to open in the South Bronx will change locations after its initial site was met with strong community resistance.
The company PharmaCannis had originally planned to open its dispensary at 1280 Oak Point Ave. but will now open up at 405 Hunts Point Ave. instead, according to Bronx Community Board 2 District Manager Rafael Salamanca and PharmaCannis CEO Teddy Scott.
Locals strongly criticized 1280 Oak Point Ave. as a poor choice for a medical marijuana dispensary because it was in an extremely secluded part of the community. F&F Supply president and CEO Gary Jacobs had threatened to move his company out of 1260 Oak Point Ave. if the dispensary opened up next door.
However, Salamanca said he did not foresee similar concerns arising over the dispensary's new spot on Hunts Point Avenue.
"We feel that it's a more secure location," he said. "It has more foot traffic. It’s not an isolated location, as the other location was."
Jacobs agreed, describing the dispensary's new address as "a win for the neighborhood."
"The most important thing is it’s on a bus route, and it’s not in the depths of Hunts Point," he said, adding that he thinks the new site will put an end to his moving plans.
The site used to be the location of a sports bar, but that establishment closed down due to poor business, according to landowner Nudpanath (Bala) Nadanapathan.
The dispensary should open up sometime this month, according to Scott, who said his company had listened to the concerns of the community and viewed their facility's new location as easier for patients to get to.
"I think it will have better access," he said. "I think everybody thinks it has better access for the locals, local patients."
Dr. Ian Amritt, chair of Bronx Community Board 2, also maintained that the new site would work much better for the dispensary.
"It is a better fit, only because there is public transportation on the number 6 bus," he said. "It stops right in front of it."
