William Jane, an adult-use marijuana dispensary owned and operated by William Durham, has opened in Ithaca.

Durham is a Brooklyn native who's lived mostly in Binghamton. He has a background in retail, construction and property investment.

"It's been a lot of paperwork, a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails, a lot of restless nights. It's been a mission, but I think we've succeeded at this point, at least up until this point, where we can do the rollout for the pop-up shop," Durham said.

The dispensary is supported by the state's Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund. It provides licenses to open on a short-term basis to start generating capital. In time, the pop-up should close for final construction and then re-open for the long-term.

A press release from the governor's office added that New York values equity in cannabis licensing, and prioritizes people with a cannabis conviction or a close relative of someone with one.

Durham said there were a couple situations where he was charged with cannabis possession.

"There was a couple jobs that I couldn't get, security jobs, based off of the cannabis charge. So at the end of the day, obviously, it's an issue. It was an issue for a lot of young men of my color, men of my past. So far, I think we've come a long way as far as trying to get that taken care of," said Durham.

While equity was a factor, financial possibilities aren't ignored.

"A typical facility like this is gonna be between $5 and $10 million revenue generator, which means jobs, means people coming to the community," said Dormitory Authority of the State of New York President and CEO Reuben McDaniel.

The Ithaca mayor said it was exciting "to be among the early adopters of this new driver for equitable economic development."