One Yr After License Was Granted, New UES Cannabis Shop Can Finally Open Its Doors

When Joseph Abramov was 19, he saw a business opportunity in the up-and-coming weed delivery scene, albeit one that was still illegal. “Everyone was involved. Everything was under the table,” he told Our Town. He began running his own delivery service in Queens, and built a business that he described as “dominating” the market. But throughout its operations, he’d run into trouble with the law “a bunch of times” and watch his associates go to prison. After two years, he decided to close up shop and pivot to something more legitimate, more stable. For the 13 years since, he’s been a real estate investor and developer, though his passion for marijuana never went away.

Urban Leaf, a new cannabis dispensary on 977 2nd Ave. in Midtown East, near 52nd St. is Abramov’s reentry into the market, this time with the state’s blessing. As a licensee under the state Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program, which granted first dibs on dispensary licenses to those convicted of marijuana-related offenses and their immediate family members, he’s among the first wave of legal weed entrepreneurs in New York City. But the program’s rollout has been less than ideal, hampered by lawsuits, a flood of unlicensed smoke shops, and the hefty costs of getting a business off the ground.

Abramov’s license was approved last April. “Ever since then, it’s been kind of like The Hunger Games,” he said. “Every person out in the field, cutthroat, trying to get property, trying to find a store. Everybody’s trying to JV [joint venture], raise money. It was difficult.” Urban Leaf’s ribbon-cutting ceremony took place nearly a year later, on April 18. Sitting on a Camaleonda-inspired sofa in his sleek storefront that opening day, Abramov was battling a cold, and appeared rather tired. “It’s been a long journey. It’s been a difficult one,” he said. But, he continued, “I’m happy to be here right now.”

Though he’s had experience in the weed business, the landscape has changed significantly since his days in Queens. Previously, to source products, he described having to “go to somebody shady, meet them somewhere, ... with a very, very large amount of cash,” hoping he wouldn’t get robbed. “Now there’s different challenges,” he said.

Abramov hired a man from California, with experience managing weed dispensaries there, to be Urban Leaf “main guy.” Many of the other staff members, he said, are bud connoisseurs. The store carries products from familiar big brands like Curaleaf, as well as local growers and distributors like Marijuana Farms New York, or MFNY. Abramov said that he’s personally tested all the products in the store. “I’m a freak when it comes to that,” he said. He hopes that with a location in Midtown East, he’ll serve locals as well as commuters moving through Grand Central.

Though Urban Leaf is up and running, there are still hurdles to overcome. It still has to compete against gray market smoke shops, which can offer products at lower prices, though at the risk of lower quality. On April 19, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to crack down on illegal sales, which creates a statewide enforcement task force, and grants authorities the ability to immediately padlock storefronts and fine their landlords.

In the meantime, Abramov feels good about the advantages of running a legitimate shop. “People are coming in the store. People are comfortable. We have all kinds of customers — lawyers, surgeons.” He described speaking to a customer who was looking for CBD products for her husband with Parkinson’s, and selling gummies to an elderly woman who said she hadn’t had cannabis in 30 years.

Though his time in the weed business had a rough start, Abramov is optimistic about the future of cannabis in New York. “I have a saying,” he said. “Whatever is hard at the beginning has a good ending.”