New York City opened applications for a lottery to award a limited number of tobacco and vape retail licenses in designated community districts. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 30, with the lottery intended to determine which applicants may receive licenses in areas where the city has capped the number of tobacco retailers.
New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection identified available licenses in 38 community districts for tobacco retailers and 23 districts for electronic cigarette retailers. The Oct. 1 review found openings for 224 tobacco retail licenses and 41 e-cigarette retail licenses.
The city caps the number of tobacco and e-cigarette retailers in each community district, and licenses become available when the number of active licenses falls below the cap. If applications exceed available licenses, the department will randomly select businesses and invite them to complete the licensing process.