Farmingville cannabis shop may open at site of adult store

Farmingville is losing an adult store, and possibly gaining a pot shop.

The hamlet's first cannabis dispensary is slated to take the place of the Xpressions adult shop, which closed this summer after operating for decades at 2400 N. Ocean Ave., Brookhaven Town officials said on Tuesday.

The pot store, known for now by its corporate name, Small Leaf 79 LLC, would be the second cannabis shop to open in Brookhaven, one of four Long Island towns where marijuana is sold legally.

Brookhaven's cannabis industry has struggled to take shape since the state legalized recreational marijuana four years ago. The town's first pot shop in East Setauket was forced by a court to close temporarily last month but has since been allowed to reopen.

Small Leaf 79's owner, Monica Oberoi, of Jackson Heights, Queens, received a two-year operating license on July 29 from the state Office of Cannabis Management, the state agency's website shows. 

Oberoi, in a brief phone interview on Wednesday, said she planned to open in October after she expected to obtain Brookhaven Town Board approval. She declined to comment on the store and the products she planned to sell.

"I have no clue right now," she said. "I really want to go step by step."

In June, Small Leaf 79 received a special permit to open a pot shop from the town Board of Zoning Appeals, Brookhaven spokesman Drew Scott said in an email. The North Ocean Avenue site also was approved by the planning board for a change of use and new signs, he said.

Brookhaven Councilman Michael Loguercio said the site was "zoned correctly" for a marijuana store because it's zoned for industrial uses. Brookhaven restricts pot shops to industrial zones with additional restrictions to keep them away from schools, parks and houses of worship.

Xpressions had operated in Farmingville for about 30 years, said Trish Feminella, manager of the chain's Oakdale store. The chain also has stores in Lindenhurst and Hempstead, she said.

The Farmingville store closed because the chain's owners decided to sell the location to another buyer and all Farmingville staff transferred to the Oakdale shop, she said. 

"Now we shifted over here and now everything is going well here," Feminella said.

In East Setauket, Brookhaven's first legal pot store, Strong Strains, opened in June in the Stony Brook Technology Center industrial park.

Strong Strains was ordered to close last month by a state judge who is hearing a lawsuit filed by property managers of the corporate park. The property managers argue that pot shops are barred from operating at the site because they violate federal law.

A lawyer for the property managers, Brian Egan, of Patchogue, said on Wednesday that Strong Strains was allowed to reopen temporarily last week while the litigants seek "a negotiated resolution" of the matter.

David Holland of Manhattan, an attorney for Strong Strains, declined to comment on Wednesday.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.