Gotham Buds, Harlem’s only licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary, marked its first anniversary on Oct. 25 with a celebration of its business success and commitment to the Harlem community.

Dozens of Columbia students and Harlem residents gathered outside the 116th Street and Broadway gates on Monday night for a protest organized by Defend Harlem, demanding an end to Columbia’s expansion in West Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood.

The Emma L. Bowen Community Service Center, a West Harlem organization that provides mental health and social support services, hosted a community health fair on Friday in front of the Bowen Center on 145th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

Gotham Buds, Harlem’s first legal adult-use cannabis retail store, opened last week across from the historic Apollo Theater. In an interview with Spectator, Omar Tejeda, Gregory Gray Sr., and Malika Bellamy—three of the four founders of Gotham Buds, alongside Jeffrey Lopez—described their journeys in the budding cannabis industry.

Harlem’s first legal adult-use cannabis retail store, Gotham Buds, opened on Wednesday on West 125th Street across from the historic Apollo Theater. The grand opening comes over a year after New York City’s Office of Cannabis Management began accepting applications for Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licenses. Gotham Buds is the seventh cannabis retail store with this license to open in Manhattan.

In a neighborhood that gained recognition for nurturing some of the most influential fashion designers during the Harlem Renaissance decades ago, SoHarlem is now repositioning the spotlight on contemporary creative talents in West Harlem.

New York City Council member Crystal Hudson, along with Shaun Abreu, CC ’14, and 10 other council members, introduced a bill on April 11 to establish universal after-school programs in public schools by September 2024.

Cannabis lifestyle company Happy Munkey, in collaboration with Community Board 9, held a symposium and panel on Tuesday to talk about the budding legal cannabis industry in West Harlem. Cannabis industry leaders, medical professionals, and government officials came together to support legacy operators—people who were involved in the sale of cannabis prior to legalization—in their transition into the legalized cannabis dispensary space and help educate West Harlem community members on cannabis.