One would have hoped not tb reading this about Housing Works.
Some sort of predisposed genetic programming appears to lead every and any US cannabis company into ltigation.
It is exhausting to watch
NY Times March 5 2026
Leeann Mata made history two years ago when she became the first Black woman to open a legal cannabis dispensary in Brooklyn.
She started the business with the support of Housing Works, a nonprofit that assists people living with AIDS. It seemed to be a perfect match — years ago, three of Ms. Mata’s brothers were detained on low-level marijuana offenses under state laws that have since been amended, and Housing Works had expanded its mission to helping those negatively affected by the so-called war on drugs.
But the partnership quickly soured.
Ms. Mata and Housing Works are now locked in a battle. The nonprofit sued Ms. Mata for $2.5 million in unpaid fees, and Ms. Mata filed a complaint with state regulators accusing Housing Works of taking advantage of her.
Their dispute offers a rare glimpse into how one of hundreds of deals negotiated in the frenzy of New York’s legal cannabis rollout fell apart, leaving both parties feeling cheated. It raises questions about what constitutes a fair deal in a nascent industry where cash and expertise are in short supply because selling cannabis remains illegal under federal law.
The last straw, Ms. Mata said, was when a delivery driver for Housing Works’s flagship dispensary in Manhattan visited her store, Matawana, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, in April 2024 and remarked that he was making deliveries in the area. She said she felt the nonprofit was undercutting her because its consultants were telling her that her store was not ready to offer delivery, yet it was itself delivering in her area.
“Everything they were doing was destroying my company,” Ms. Mata, 45, said.
Matthew Bernardo, the president of Housing Works, said the nonprofit delivered to Park Slope before it became involved in Matawana. While he was proud to have helped Ms. Mata make history, he said her store did not have the software or training early on to offer delivery. Doing so unprepared could have gotten her in trouble with regulators, he added. He said the lawsuit filed last September was a last resort after Ms. Mata refused to honor their contract, and they could not agree to a settlement.
“There’s always disagreements,” he said. Ultimately, he added, both parties had to abide by their contract.
The state legalized the sale of recreational cannabis in 2021, promising to finance the first 150 licensed dispensaries, including leasing space for them. But when it became clear that New York would not be able to keep that promise, a flurry of deal-making began. The first license-holders, who either had been convicted of a marijuana-related offense or had a close relative who had been, were sent scrambling to find investors and lock down real estate.
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