Purple Buds is a licensed cannabis dispensary at 75-20 Roosevelt Ave in Jackson Heights, about 100 metres east of the 74th Street subway complex, where the 7 train runs overhead and the E, F, M and R stop below. Legal cannabis is new to a neighborhood with more than a century of planning and civic history behind it, and the state rules on where you can use cannabis apply here like everywhere else.
This post is for neighbors and visitors who want the local context: how the neighborhood came to look the way it does, the streets around our block, and what the law allows within walking distance of the store.
A planned neighborhood with a long memory
The neighborhood did not grow by accident. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, in its historic district designation report, describes it as "Conceived, planned, built in part, and managed under the direction of a single real estate firm, the Queensboro Corporation, and its president Edward A. MacDougall." The company assembled about 350 acres of undeveloped land between 1910 and 1914.
Two things from that era still shape daily life here. The first is the housing. The report calls the neighborhood's garden apartments of the 1910s and 1920s "among New York's earliest examples of this type of apartment house." The second is the train. Per the same report, "the elevated train line along Roosevelt Avenue opened in 1917," and the avenue has lived under it ever since.
The Commission designated the Jackson Heights Historic District on October 19, 1993. Neighbors have organized to protect it for decades. The Jackson Heights Beautification Group was founded in 1988 by Mike Crowley, according to its own history, "to protect the historic garden-apartment district from the threats of vandalism and overdevelopment."
Our block sits just outside that historic core. The designation report notes that the intersection of Broadway and 74th Street is "outside the boundaries of the historic district." Our store is a short walk east of that corner.
The streets around our block
The store is on the block between 75th and 76th Streets, at the end closest to the station. A short walk west brings you to the station complex and to Diversity Plaza, which NYC DOT describes as sitting "on 37th Road between Broadway and 74th Street and on 73rd Street between Broadway and Roosevelt Avenue." The city opened an interim plaza there in fall 2012 and rebuilt it in permanent materials, reopening it in summer 2018. Its north side has an entrance to the elevated subway station.
A few blocks north, the city is turning a stretch of 34th Avenue into what DOT calls "the city's first permanent Open Street," between 69th and 96th Streets. It follows a temporary open street that ran 1.3 miles. The project is still in progress.
37th Avenue has also been the route of the Queens Pride Parade, first held on June 6, 1993 and founded by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez.
Where cannabis use is and is not allowed nearby
Buying legally is simple. Using it in public is more restricted than many people expect, and the rules are the same here as anywhere in the state:
- Parks and patios. Cannabis use is illegal anywhere tobacco smoking is banned, which the state gives as including public parks and restaurant patios. That covers the neighborhood's parks.
- Cars. Drivers and passengers may not smoke cannabis in a vehicle, moving or parked, and open containers of cannabis in a car are illegal.
- Businesses. Using cannabis inside a private business is illegal.
Our post on New York cannabis rules in 2026 covers possession limits and taxes in full.
How to visit Purple Buds
We are open daily 10AM to 10PM. Purple Buds is pickup and walk-in only, with no delivery, so the store itself is where every order ends. Bring a valid 21+ photo ID, then either walk in or reserve on the live menu and collect in store.
State license records show our license as active, and our store opened to the public on March 3, 2026. Our store page has directions and store details, and the contact page has the map and phone number.
Questions about visiting from around the neighborhood
Which subway stops are closest to Purple Buds?
The nearby station complex is signed as 74 St-Broadway for the 7 and Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av for the E, F, M and R. The store is about 100 metres east of 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
Can I use cannabis in a park in the neighborhood?
No. State rules make cannabis use illegal in places where tobacco smoking is banned, and public parks are one of the examples the state gives.
Does Purple Buds deliver in Jackson Heights?
No. Purple Buds is pickup and walk-in only. Reserve on the menu and collect your order at the store during open hours.