The owners of New Metro, the first legal dispensary in eastern Queens, wanted to mix retro and modern with a print newspaper aesthetic.
Photo by Iryna Shkurhan
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Almost two decades ago, as a fresh-faced teenager who just graduated from Cardozo High School, Sean Kang was arrested on cannabis charges near his Bayside home.
On Monday he felt a sense of justice as he opened the doors to the area’s first legal dispensary – New Metro on Horace Harding Expressway. The newspaper themed dispensary, which used to be a hot yoga studio, is the last store on a tucked away strip with several Asian restaurants. One of Kang’s arrests for possession took place just a block away.
“It was a way different landscape back then. They don’t even give you a ticket for smoking outside now,” said Kang at the grand opening of the store on Feb. 19. “Looking back, it was a gift and a curse.”
Road to Opening Day
Kang was one of the recipients of the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CUARD) license which