The historic Greenpoint Savings Bank may become a marijuana dispensary

Greenpoint Savings Bank, the historic neo-classical landmarked building that opened at 807 Manhattan Avenue back in 1906, may soon become a cannabis storefront.

Altitude NY posted a notice on the facade of the structure, which has been sitting empty for the past four years, warning neighbors about its plans to open the weed shop on site.

Folks concerned with the potential development have an opportunity for public comment today at 6:30pm when the Brooklyn Community Board 1's Cannabis Review Committee will be looking over the application. Keep in mind that, although the organization's opinion certainly matters, it's the state's Cannabis Control Board that will make the ultimate decision.

The New York Post reports that some area residents are in favor of the potential opening, especially since the building became a "graffiti target" and "fell into disrepair" after Capital One, the last tenant, moved out in 2020.

Others, though, are concerned about the destination's vicinity to PS031. To be clear, according to official law, cannabis retail businesses are not allowed to operate within five hundred feet of a school, and PS031 falls right outside of those parameters.

When thinking of "creative" locations for recently legalized weed shops, we immediately go back to NYC Bud at 445 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, the are'a first recreational dispensary and the first-ever subway-themed one. As patrons of the shop know and have documented on social media, the destination also features a life-sized subway car with moving doors that you can actually go inside of. Suddenly, buying weed from inside a former bank sounds like an average Tuesday afternoon.