Zeidel & Associates Represents a Doe Fund Affiliate in One of NY State’s First Recreational Cannabis Dispensary Leases

Zeidel & Associates represented a venture controlled by the not-for-profit The Doe Fund in its lease at 835 Broadway: the future home of the “Union Square Travel Agency,” one of New York City’s first recreational cannabis dispensaries, scheduled to open on February 13, 2023.

The Doe Fund, a nonprofit whose mission is to break the cycles of poverty, homelessness and recidivism through economic opportunity, housing and compressive support services, received one of the first 10 dispensary licenses reserved for nonprofit groups or applicants with their own or relatives with marijuana convictions.

Zeidel & Associates negotiated typical and not-so-typical terms related to the dispensary’s lease in the former Chase Bank space in Union Square. To finalize the transaction by year-end, the firm worked collaboratively with the landlord to address issues of concern raised by this burgeoning usage of retail space, such as use restrictions in the building’s condominium documents, security issues presented by the likely congregating of customers outside the store, and the obstacles presented by insurance and banking-related restrictions and limitations related to cannabis use.

While Zeidel & Associates entered a new frontier with this client, the firm’s understanding of the New York City real estate market and experience working with both tenants and landlords enabled them to partner with the landlord to expedite the lease so it could be finalized quickly.