AUGUST 29, 2019

Where New York Stands on Marijuana

By Azi Paybarah

It's Thursday.

Weather: Wear shades. It'll be sunny, with a high in the low to mid-80s.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Monday (Labor Day).

Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress/Corbis, via Getty Images

For months, legislators in Albany, spurred on by criminal justice reform groups, debated various ways in which New York could legalize marijuana, just as states like California, Washington and Alaska had done.

But a proposed bill fell through in June.

Then, near the end of the legislative session, lawmakers reached a last-minute compromise: They passed a bill that would further decriminalize the possession of the drug and immediately expunge, or seal, records of low-level marijuana convictions across the state.

On Wednesday, New York started the process of expunging many of these records, a spokesman for Governor Cuomo said.

"For too long communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana and have suffered the lifelong consequences of an unfair marijuana conviction," Mr. Cuomo said in a statement.

The method for expunging such records is still being developed, officials said. The process could take up to a year, said Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the State Office of Court Administration.

Many advocates are still hopeful the Legislature can push through full legalization in the future.

[10,872 New Yorkers will see their marijuana convictions disappear.]

A lower penalty

Under the new law, possessing between one and two ounces of marijuana will no longer be considered a Class B misdemeanor.

It will now be a violation, with fines up to $200. Those found with less than an ounce of marijuana will now face a $50 fine, compared with $150 previously.

Sealing the records will keep low-level marijuana-related criminal convictions from appearing in most background searches, state officials said.

Numbers and impact

The new law will automatically wipe clean the criminal records of 10,872 people in New York City, said a spokeswoman for the State Division of Criminal Justice Services. In the rest of the state, 13,357 other people will see their marijuana convictions cleared, the spokeswoman said.

Advocates of criminal justice reform have embraced the move, as studies have shown that the criminalization of marijuana has a disproportionate impact on blacks and Hispanics.

Kassandra Frederique, the New York State director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit group, said that the law was a "great step forward" but that only full marijuana legalization would give relief to thousands of New Yorkers who had faced other drug-related charges.

"We can't do half measures," Ms. Frederique said. "It has to be full and comprehensive as the damage has been full and comprehensive. The elected should not take this as their job complete. They owe New Yorkers way more."

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The Mini Crossword: Here is today's puzzle.

What we're reading

Over Labor Day Weekend, you can rent a cabin on Governors Island for $595 a night. [Curbed]

New York City police are arresting fewer people for minor crimes after Officer Daniel Pantaleo's firing, according to Chief of Department Terence Monahan. [New York Post]

A middle school teacher in Queens was accused of possessing child pornography. [NY1]

Coming up today

The attorney and mob historian Thomas F. Comiskey talks about the East Village Mafia at New York City's Department of Records and Information Services in Manhattan. 6 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

Join Nicole Dennish-Benn for a reading and discussion of her new book, "Patsy," at the Lit Bar in the Bronx. 6 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

See photos taken during the making of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," having its 50th anniversary, with the photographer, director and producer Lawrence Schiller at Pop International Galleries in Manhattan. 7 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

— Melissa Guerrero

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times's culture pages.

And finally: Four days of unicycling

Nearly 10 years ago, Keith Nelson saw a prompt in The Times asking influential New Yorkers what changes they wanted to see in the city.

"In 2010, the city should open a unicycle lane and special unicycle access to every bridge in New York," Mr. Nelson, the executive director of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, said at the time.

Soon after that, his first Unicycle Festival came to be. This year's free events start today.

"It's a gift to New York City," Mr. Nelson, 49, said.

— Today: Intermediate and advanced riders meet in the Battery at 10 a.m. and pedal up Manhattan's West Side to Central Park, where they'll take a loop.

— Tomorrow: Intermediate and advanced riders meet at the west end of the Brooklyn Bridge, next to City Hall, at 2 p.m. Riders will start pedaling across the bridge at 3 p.m. on their way to Coney Island.

— Saturday and Sunday: Riders of all skill levels can head to Governors Island for a learn-to-ride area, unicycle sumo and basketball matches, and a "pimp your unicycle" contest. A helmet is encouraged. Unicycles will be provided for beginners, and Mr. Nelson said rookies should expect to spend a lot of time leaning against a fence or wall.

It's Thursday — find your balance.

Metropolitan Diary: Fellow travelers

Dear Diary:

A thin woman in a thin cotton dress is sitting with her legs crossed and wound in a way that looks like one of my favorite yoga poses. She is next to a guy who clearly works on his tan at any opportunity. As off-putting as that may be, he seems quite polite.

Next to him is a pregnant woman who is shifting constantly trying to get comfortable. She is sitting next to a girl with shoulder-length jet black hair that could be mistaken for fringe.

Near the door, two men are standing and talking. You can tell by the ease of their exchange that they are old friends.

I observe all this from behind dark sunglasses. Like everyone except the two men, I am in my own world, swaying gently when the train banks one way or the other as it screeches along the rails.

Then, whoosh, the doors open and we all rush into the steam bath, off to find coffee.

— Kathleen Milburn

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