New York Senate Bill S10018

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/22/26
• Refer: 4/22/26

Caption

Requires the cannabis board to review the five most recent years of relevant New York police department crime statistics from the precinct wherein the premises of a proposed dispensary is located and review and treat as binding the finding of any resolution passed by the community board regarding an adult-use retail dispensary license application in a city having a population of one million people or more.

Summary

S10018 would add a new section to the New York Cannabis Law governing adult-use retail dispensary license applications in cities with populations of one million or more, which in practice means New York City. The bill directs the Cannabis Control Board, when deciding whether to approve or deny a dispensary license, to review the five most recent years of relevant NYPD crime statistics for the precinct where the proposed store would be located. The bill also requires the board to review any resolution adopted by the local community board and to treat that resolution as binding in the licensing decision. In effect, the measure would give precinct-level crime data and community board action a formal, mandatory role in the siting and approval of cannabis retail dispensaries in the state’s largest city, and it would take effect immediately upon enactment.

Impact

The bill would amend the Cannabis Law by creating a special licensing rule for adult-use retail dispensaries in cities of one million or more people. It would constrain the Cannabis Control Board’s discretion by requiring consideration of local crime statistics and by making community board resolutions binding, potentially affecting where dispensaries can be approved and how applications are evaluated in New York City. The practical impact would be on cannabis applicants, local community boards, and the state board responsible for licensing.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented debate or recorded support/opposition in the materials supplied. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to reflect a policy preference for stronger local input and neighborhood-specific review in cannabis licensing, but the available record does not show whether that approach was broadly supported or contested.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the bill’s requirement that the Cannabis Control Board treat community board resolutions as binding, which would significantly increase local control over state licensing decisions. Another likely issue is the use of five years of NYPD precinct crime statistics as a mandatory factor, which could be viewed as either a public-safety safeguard or as a mechanism that may disproportionately burden certain neighborhoods and applicants. No specific legislators, agencies, or community groups are identified in the provided record as taking positions.