Dirty and dilapidated. The historic Greenpoint Savings Bank in Brooklyn has become an eyesore. 

“Graffiti all over it, all over the top, all over the sides. It was disgusting,” Jodie Ann Beatty, who has lived in the same home on Lorimer Street her entire life, said.  

What You Need To Know

  • In October, the company Altitude NY LLC posted a memo outside the bank, alerting residents of its plans to open a “cannabis storefront”

  • The bank is attached to a luxury apartment building whose residents fear the shop will lower the value of their homes

  • The Office of Cannabis Management is expected to vote on whether to grant Altitude NY LLC a license for the marijuana dispensary on Dec. 10

Some of her most treasured childhood memories happened inside the bank.

“When I was a kid, I used to go in there and it had a huge Christmas tree at Christmas time, and they would have toys under there for the less fortunate kids in the neighborhood,” Beatty said.

Greenpoint Savings Bank is a New York City landmark but fell into disrepair after it was vacated in 2020 and then went into foreclosure last year. But the building may soon have a new tenant: a marijuana shop.

In October, the company Altitude NY LLC posted a memo outside the bank, alerting residents of its plans to open a “cannabis storefront." The company also owns a dispensary in Syracuse called FlynnStoned Cannabis Company.

“It’s been vacant for quite some time now. There’s a lot of riffs raff that hangs out outside so something needs to go in there and it’s just a perfect opportunity for a big retail store like the one that we’re doing,” Mike Flynn, the owner of FlynnStoned Cannabis Company, said.

The bank is attached to a luxury apartment building named 1080 Lorimer. Mark Stuver purchased his apartment nearly three years ago. He says neighbors are concerned about the shop’s proximity to a public elementary school. Residents also fear the shop will lower the value of their homes.

“It’s saying, ‘oh it’s fine, let’s just expose kids to this adult-use only product. It doesn’t matter what parents think,’” Stuver said.

Those who plan to open the shop say they will hire security to ensure the area is safe not just for employees and customers, but people who live near the shop.

“I think that once everyone notices our clientele and sees what we do for the community and how clean we keep it over in that neck of the woods, I think they’ll start seeing the future or this product and it is legal now,” Flynn said.

An online petition against the cannabis shop has garnered more than 600 signatures. Beatty says she hopes the state takes residents’ concerns into consideration before it’s too late. 

“It gives me the thought of, ‘Do I really want to stay here?’ And that’s a shame because I love this neighborhood. My daughter loves this neighborhood. And this is my history,” Beatty said.

The Office of Cannabis Management is expected to vote on whether to grant Altitude NY LLC a license for the marijuana dispensary on Dec. 10.