108 impacted licensees. 107 questions. This CloudCrafterz investigation asks what records support New York's school-proximity determinations—and why a FOIL production identified the businesses without providing the full basis for the decisions.
Presented here in the original seven-panel editorial sequence, with accompanying text for readability and accessibility.
01 / 108 impacted licensees, 107 questions
New York identified 108 licensed cannabis businesses as impacted by its school-proximity correction. I asked for the records behind those determinations. Nearly a year later, I got the names—but almost none of the reasoning.
A list of names is not the same as an explanation.
02 / The state said its own measurement was wrong
On July 28, 2025, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management began notifying licensees that the method used to measure distance from schools had not complied with Cannabis Law §72(6). That correction set the events in motion.
03 / I asked them to show their work
On August 5, 2025, I filed a Freedom of Information Law request seeking the records behind the impacted-location determinations: affected businesses, official notices, maps and distance measurements, zoning and proximity records, and internal analysis explaining the rationale.
This was not a request for a list. It was a request for the basis of the decisions.
04 / The money proves it was serious
The state created a $15 million Applicant Relief Program for businesses affected by the proximity correction. Eligible applicants could seek up to $250,000 in relocation costs or previously invested funds.
If the consequences were serious enough to require money, they were serious enough to require documentation.
05 / Not for the 108
As explained in the original investigation, the 152 affected businesses and applicants were not treated alike: 108 final licensees were ineligible for the Applicant Relief Program, while 44 applicants had a potential financial remedy.
The disparity raises an additional accountability question.
06 / What OCM actually sent
The FOIL response arrived July 23, 2026. The production contained five files: a general update on proximity protections, a list of licensees, a memo to licensees, a single individualized proximity letter, and a closing letter.
The files provide context and names, but not the requested reasoning for all 108 determinations.
07 / What they did not provide
Among the five files supplied, I did not find individualized notices for the remaining 107 businesses, maps showing each alleged school conflict, measurement worksheets or distance calculations for each location, or internal analysis explaining the individual decisions.
A production can be complete in volume and still incomplete in substance. What I requested was the reasoning. What I got was mostly context and a list.
CloudCrafterz · People Over Power · Cultivating the Cultivators.
Source Documents — OCM FOIL Production
Five records, twelve original pages. These exhibits are complete PNG renditions of the approved privacy-sanitized documents. Each multi-page document is arranged vertically in its original page order. Select any image or full-resolution link to open and save the readable exhibit.
The original source documents remain unmodified in the private records archive; redaction concerns the copies displayed here. The proximity notice identifies the business to which that example letter was addressed.
01 / August 6, 2025 — Licensee Memo
Two pages. Agency guidance to affected licensees, including the distinction between impacted licensees and applicants.
2 pages · PNG · 1479 × 3856 pixels
Open full-resolution PNG ↗ (save image to retain a copy)
02 / July 28, 2025 — Proximity Letter
Two pages. Example of an individualized proximity notice sent to a licensed business; third-party business details are retained as approved.
2 pages · PNG · 1479 × 3856 pixels
Open full-resolution PNG ↗ (save image to retain a copy)
03 / List of 108 Impacted Licensees
Three pages. OCM's list of affected entities and their license numbers, reproduced in full.
3 pages · PNG · 1479 × 5801 pixels
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04 / FOIL Closing Letter — Redacted
One page. OCM's response to the FOIL request. Personal requester information and request identifier have been removed.
1 page · PNG · 1479 × 1914 pixels
Open full-resolution PNG ↗ (save image to retain a copy)
05 / February 17, 2026 — Proximity Legislation Update
Four pages. OCM's legislative update; recipient-identifying information and tracked links removed.
4 pages · PNG · 1479 × 7740 pixels
Open full-resolution PNG ↗ (save image to retain a copy)
