It’s (almost) official: Moore Street Market, better known to many Southsiders as “La Marqueta de Williamsburg,” will stay open for at least two more years.
Although the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has yet to confirm it, various sources involved in the negotiations such as representatives for Rep. Nydia Velazquez and Assemblymember Vito Lopez, along with Community Board 1 District Manager Gerald Esposito and Merchants Association President Virgilio Rodriguez said the EDC told them the news.
By September, the management of the market located at Moore Street between Humboldt Street and Graham Avenue will be turned over from the EDC to the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), sources say.
The details of the change-over are still being negotiated, according to sources.
“It’s good news all-around. The market has been saved and given a new administration,” said Esposito, who has long assailed the EDC on what he feels has been lackluster management of the space.
Added Lopez: “I was proud to work closely with the city and the merchants to preserve this historic market. I look forward to the market staying open for many years to come.”
EDC spokeswoman Janel Paterson did not confirm the market’s reprieve or that management had been turned over to the BEDC.
She said she had nothing more to add to her comments from a few weeks ago, when she said, “The market is not in imminent danger of closing. We’re working on a long-term plan that would benefit the community and the market. We hope to be able to announce something in the coming weeks.”
Either way, in the span of a year and a half, the news on the market has gone from gloomy to good.
In February 2007, the EDC announced plans to close the venerable market, built in 194 at the behest of then-Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia to give pushcart operators a clean, centralized place to peddle their goods. In its place, the EDC wanted to build affordable housing.
Rumors of the market’s demise did not sit well with many Southside residents who see the market – which, among other items, sells hard-to-find Latin American produce – as an enduring symbol of traditional Latino Williamsburg during a period of rapid gentrification.
The EDC has evidently responded to the loud community outcry that followed February’s announcement and reversed its course.
Still, there are many hurdles to overcome to get the market on better financial footing. The market is heavily subsidized by the city, allowing vendors to pay a discounted rate of $19 per square foot. It currently loses around $270,000 annually, according to Paterson.
Supporters of the market contend that revenues have been down because of EDC’s indifferent management.
“EDC wouldn’t work with us because they wanted to close the market,” said Rodriguez.
Only 19 of the 26 available stalls in the market are currently occupied. Rodriguez believes that this undermined the market as a vital place of business, but the EDC has maintained that they were merely trying to minimize the financial loss that came with subsidizing the merchants.
Evelyn Cruz, a spokesperson for Velazquez, expressed hope that the market’s reprieve will allow the non-profit Project for Public Spaces (PPS) to explore ways of making the market more economically viable. Last year, PPS received a $235,000 grant from Velazquez for this purpose.
Starting on Saturday, PPS will distribute surveys throughout the neighborhood to determine the consumer needs of nearby residents. Cruz also said she hopes PPS and other supporters of the market help train the vendors so they can run better businesses.
“We want to empower these vendors with the tools, knowledge, and resources they need. Nobody has trained them on how to manage a business. They’ve been surviving for 20 years basically on their own,” Cruz said.
