Farmers Market Returns to McGolrick Park This Weekend
GREENPOINT – The McGolrick Park farmers market will return to park grounds this weekend after being briefly sidelined by construction. Community opposition to the move was instrumental in reversing the decision.
This spring, the Parks Department announced that the market would be moved from the pavilion at the center of the park to nearby Monitor Street, due to ongoing construction at the north end of the park, where a $2.3 million renovation to the children’s play equipment is underway.
Locals weren’t happy, however, about being shunted over to Monitor Street, and some vendors complained about setting up on the narrow sidewalk, where they experienced a significant drop-off in foot traffic compared to their previous location at the center of the park.
The McGolrick Park Neighborhood Alliance (MPNA) circulated a petition online, calling for the market to be moved back inside the park. It garnered more than 350 signatures.
In a statement on their site, the MPNA wrote that the farmers market is more than just an opportunity to buy food—it’s a community institution, they said, giving neighbors a space to gather and interact, which is all the more important while a large portion of the park is closed for construction.
The petition prompted a meeting between Assemblymember Joe Lentol, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Marty Maher and a member of Councilmember Stephen Levin’s staff, in which they reached a decision to move the market back into the park.
“In the past six years the farmers market has become an important part of Greenpoint providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables to the community, as well as an outlet for small New York State farmers to sell their product,” said Councilmember Levin in a statement. “I’m happy that the Parks Department was able to work with the residents and put the market back into the middle of the park so everyone can enjoy it to its fullest.”
The construction project that prompted the move began in September of last year and is scheduled to be completed by September 2018.
The McGolrick Farmer’s Market is put on by Down to Earth and takes place every Sunday, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Now in its sixth year, the market will run from May 6 to November 18, featuring about 20 vendors and different events each week.
