New York
High court justice temporarily blocks retail pot licensing, setback for new program
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge has temporarily blocked the state from issuing retail marijuana licenses after a lawsuit from four veterans who argue that regulators are wrongly prioritizing applicants with drug convictions.
New York Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant issued the temporary restraining order Monday halting the state from issuing or processing marijuana dispensary licenses.
The order is the latest legal setback for the state’s fledgling marijuana market, which has been beset by a slow rollout critics have blamed on a cumbersome process designed to give the first round of licenses to people with prior drug convictions or to certain types of nonprofit groups.
The attorney general’s office, in a court filing, has cautioned that halting the program will financially hurt retailers who are spending money to set up shop under provisional licenses. The state is not expected to issue new licenses until at least September when a cannabis regulatory board is set to meet, the attorney general’s office said in a filing last week.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Friday in Kingston, New York.
The veterans’ lawsuit alleges the state’s Office of Cannabis Management created a licensing system that is at odds with the state’s recreational marijuana law, improperly limiting initial licenses to people with drug convictions rather than a wider category of so-called social equity applicants.
The order halting the state’s program comes after regulators voted in May to settle a federal lawsuit that blocked them from issuing licenses in the Finger Lakes region. That suit was filed by a company owned by a Michigan resident who said New York’s licensing system unconstitutionally favors New Yorkers over out-of-state residents.
Separately, state regulators last month approved the sale of marijuana at festivals and other events after farmers complained that there aren’t enough legal dispensaries in the state to handle their harvests.
As the state’s legal licensing program has stalled, authorities have begun to shut down a glut of illegal marijuana shops that have cropped up as unlicensed sellers move to fill the vacuum.
New York
Lawsuits filed by Airbnb over NYC’s short-term rental rules dismissed
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge on Tuesday dismissed lawsuits filed by Airbnb and three hosts over New York City’s rules for short-term rentals, saying the restrictions are “entirely rational.”
In a 14-page ruling, Supreme Court Judge Arlene P. Bluth said having to comply with a registration system does not present an “overly onerous obligation” to the company and hosts. Such a system, she said, will help identify many illegal short-term rentals before they’re listed on the Airbnb platform.
“To be sure, these rules will likely not be perfect,” she added. “But it addresses a problem raised by OSE (New York City Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement) and avoids a key obstacle — enforcing the ban on illegal short-term rentals.”
A city official cited thousands of illegal short-term rentals when defending the new rules in court, noting 43,000 on just Airbnb in 2018. The city received nearly 12,000 complaints regarding illegal short-term rentals from 2017 to 2021.
New York’s 2022 ordinance requires owners to register with the mayor’s office, disclose who else lives in the property, and promise to comply with zoning, construction and maintenance ordinances.
San Francisco-based Airbnb has called the restrictions “extreme and oppressive” and a de facto ban against short-term rentals that left the company no choice but to sue.
“Taken together, these features of the registration scheme appear intended to drive the short-term rental trade out of New York City once and for all,” Airbnb said in June. The company said the mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement “failed to consider reasonable alternatives.”
Asked to respond to the court’s decision, Theo Yedinsky, global policy director for Airbnb, on Tuesday evening said the city’s rules are “a blow to its tourism economy and the thousands of New Yorkers and small businesses in the outer boroughs who rely on home sharing and tourism dollars to help make ends meet.”
“The city is sending a clear message to millions of potential visitors who will now have fewer accommodation options when they visit New York City: you are not welcome,” he said in a statement.
Debbie Greenberger, an attorney who represents the three Airbnb hosts who sued the city in a companion lawsuit, said in a statement that her clients are disappointed in the ruling, arguing how the city’s rules “go after regular New Yorkers instead of illegal hotel operators.” She called on city officials to allow Airbnb hosts to rent out their own homes on a short-term basis “in order to be able to afford to live in this increasingly unaffordable city.”
The city is expected to begin enforcing the law on Sept. 5. A message was left seeking comment with the city’s Law Department about the judge’s ruling.
Airbnb sued New York state in 2016 over a ban on advertising short-term rentals. It dropped that lawsuit when the city promised not to enforce it. In 2020, Airbnb settled a lawsuit against the city over monthly reporting requirements for its listings. Airbnb said the 2022 ordinance violates both settlements.
The New York restrictions are among many efforts by local communities to regulate short-term rentals without banning them. New Orleans is among cities taking on the rental giant after a court struck down a previous law.
Vermont
Ex-officer accused of pepper-spraying handcuffed man pleads guilty to simple assault
ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) — A former Vermont police officer accused of pepper-spraying a handcuffed suspect who was shackled to a bench has pleaded guilty to simple assault.
Joel Daugreilh pushed the suspect’s head against the holding cell wall at the St. Albans police station and pepper-sprayed the suspect in the eyes at close range in November 2017, according to the Office of the Vermont Attorney General. Daugreilh later resigned from the St. Albans Police Department.
The attorney general’s office initially decided not to prosecute him but then reopened the investigation in 2020.
Daugreilh pleaded guilty on Monday, and his sentence was deferred. A judge placed him on six months of probation and mandated 40 hours of community service.
