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Unlike many other conditional cannabis dispensary license holders, Seth Marks hasnât had to navigate the muddy waters of the New York State Dormitory Authority (DASNY) to get his retail cannabis dispensary on track for an early 2024 opening.
Marks, who hopes to open the first retail cannabis dispensary in Rockland County, said heâs heard from other would-be purveyors that going through DASNYâs $200 million low-interest loan program was like being a mouse on a treadmill.
âThere were a lot of problems as far as DASNY goes,â he said. âPeople have told me there were a lot of hurdles to go through, and it was way too complex.â
âDonât get me wrong,â he added. âThey have all the right intentions, and theyâre helping out a lot of people.â But finding a suitable storefront can be a daunting task, Marks said.
âThank goodness I donât have to go through that since I have my own property.â
Since receiving his Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license in April as part of the second round of approvals, Marks has received a go-ahead from the Office of Cannabis Management and the Village of Nyack for his retail dispensary, which will be conveniently located on the site of his existing car dealership, Palisade Auto Sales, on Route 59.
The glass building which he acquired in 2011 for his dealership is in one of the special commercial zones that the village set up for retail cannabis dispensaries after it opted into the program.
Marks, who was born and brought up in Spring Valley and who raised his own family in New City, said heâs in the process of working with an architect to turn one of his showrooms into a retail dispensary.
âWeâve been having meetings with the building inspectorâ and hope to get all the details squared away ârelatively soon,â he said.
The Village of Nyack, an historic suburb of New York City on the west bank of the Hudson River, is one of just a handful of municipalities in Rockland County that have opted into the recreational dispensary program.
Nyack Mayor Don Hammond said the village was âexcitedâ about Marksâ new business and the âopportunities createdâ for âthose negatively impacted by the War on Drugs.â
Marksâ personal experience with that war landed him in jail in 1997 and turned his life upside down as he had to forfeit many of his valuable possessions, including some vintage vehicles.
But he never threw in the towel and he returned to trading used cars â opening his own car business â after his incarceration and while still on probation.
âI love the car business,â he said, âbut itâs changed drasticallyâ in the face of rising interest rates and intermittent supply chain problems.
So âIâm going to lighten up on the car business and do something Iâve always wanted to do,â he said. âItâs really cool that I had something else to take its place.â
The Office of Rockland County Supervisor Ed Day declined comment on the advent of retail cannabis shops.