New Essex Market bigger, more vendors
Brewer said that Tim Laughlin, of the Lower East Side Partnership Business
Improvement District, was instrumental in the project. At the press
conference, Laughlin called the new space a state-of-the-art facility and a
unique collection of tenants in Manhattan.
“This project is a true representation of what we can do when the
community works together,” Laughlin said. “We all should be very
proud.”
“This is such a beautiful space,” said Councilmember Chin.
She noted all the work that went into the project, including
ensuring that original vendors could move into the
same amount of space without a rent increase, which
she said was hard to achieve but the right thing to
do.
Eric Suh, of the New Star Fish Market, a family
business founded in 1994, said most of
his customers were excited about the move
but some were disappointed and worried
about losing the character of the old
building.
Suh acknowledged the former building
did have a lot of historic fl avor.
“But the heart and soul of Essex Market
really lies in the vendors and shoppers
that make up this community,” he
said. “The vendors who offer a more
personal, intimate shopping experience,
who are experts in their craft and dedicate
their whole lives to what they do.”
The public market, Suh said, is a
place “where family-owned businesses
like mine can thrive.”
Rhonda Kave, owner and operator
of Roni-Sue’s Chocolates, a market
fi xture since 2007, also spoke of the
place’s community feel. She said this
was especially important during a time
in New York when so many mom-andpop
stores are struggling to survive.
“It’s truly a unique place,” Kave said.
“The Essex Market gives so many small
vendors and businesses the opportunity
to realize their dreams.”
The chocolatier said the market allows
vendors to connect with the community.
“This is like a microcosm of
the Lower East Side,” she
said, “and to be a part
of that is really special.”
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Cutting the ribbon at Essex Market, from left, the Lower East Side
Partnership’s Tim Laughlin, former C.B. 3 Chairperson Dominic Berg,
Borough President Gale Brewer, merchants Eric Suh and Rhonda Kave,
Councilmember Margaret Chin and E.D.C. President James Patchett.
of immigration. Really, this could only
have happened on the Lower East
Side.”
Among the groups and people the
speakers thanked were Delancey Street
Associates, the Essex Street Market
Vendors Association, Community
Board 3, Brewer and Councilmember
Margaret Chin, and the Bloomberg and
de Blasio administrations.
velopment Corporation, said they had
worked for the last decade on this project,
and that it was a coming together of
new and old New York.
“This is what New York City should
look like,” Patchett said. “What’s special
about Essex is its diversity, in a diverse
neighborhood.”
Manhattan Borough President Gale
Brewer said it was a true community effort
to make the new market happen.
“Now we can celebrate this
building,” she said. “We can
celebrate different cultures
that have come
with each wave
Eats
BY GABE HERMAN
The new Essex Market is now offi
cially open for business on the
Lower East Side.
The marketplace held its offi cial
grand opening and ribbon cutting on
May 13, in its new building at 88 Essex
St., at Delancey St. It previously was located
at 120 Essex St.
The new market brought along all
21 vendors from the original space. It
also added 16 new ones, including the
Lower East Side Ice Cream Factory;
sandwich shop Heros and Villains;
Don Ceviche, which offers Peruvian
food; and Samesa, which makes Middle
Eastern cuisine.
The 37,000-square-foot space is
three times the size of the previous
market, plus features two full-service
restaurants and a demonstration kitchen.
There will be free cooking and nutrition
workshops called Fresh Bites on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays on the mezzanine
level, with classes also translated
into Spanish and Chinese.
The Essex Street Market was founded
in 1940, when Mayor LaGuardia led
the effort to deal with pushcart vendors
clogging up the streets.
The public market’s new home is in a
building that is part of the Essex Crossing
development. The complex includes
a new Regal 14-screen movie theater
and nearly 200 rental apartments.
At a press conference on opening day,
local offi cials and community members
celebrated the new market and its diverse
offerings, and noted the years it
took to make the project happen.
James Patchett, president of the nonprofi
t New York City Economic De-
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Opening day inside the new Essex Market.
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Nordic Preserves is one of the market’s many vendors.
20 May 23, 2019 TVG Schneps Media