☞ INTRODUCING: La Marqueta Garden Center

We received news in our inbox that Manhattan's largest garden center will arrive next month at La Marqueta's open plaza area underneath the Park Avenue train tracks from 116th to 118th Street. Other than the Hot Bread Kitchen and reorganization of the "main building", the Urban Garden Center is taking 20,000 sqare foot at the north end of the historic East Harlem Market. Apparently the owners are the same family that brought Dimitri's Garden Center to Upper East Side and East Harlem.

Plans to re-introduce the new La Marqueta garden site should happen around November 15th and the Mayor will reportedly make an announcement on location around that date. Owner and operator, Aspasia Gatanas, (originally from East Harlem) is the daughter of the founders of Dimitri's Garden Center and the family ran a similar center on 102nd Street for 50 years. Urban Garden Center will carry a wide range of products from organic fertilizers to large specimen trees, garden statuary and fountains, indoor and outdoor plants/trees/shrubs, annuals/perennials, soils, mulches, seeds, garden tools, pots and hydroponics. Seasonal items will include the likes of Christmas trees, pumpkins and firewood.

 Also included at the Urban Garden Center will be a variety of showroom displays of the work that they do through its subsidiary GRNRF (pronounced GreenRoof). GRNRF currently designs, installs and maintains gardens throughout Manhattan. A floral department will also be included in the main indoor building of La Marqueta and the center will provide 30 new local jobs. Learn more about the center on their website: www.UrbanGardenNYC.com.  The La Marqueta revival is quickly making gains and we hope to see the main building goes through some major transformations in the future: LINK

☞ READ: Bakeries Proceeding Under La Marqueta

Curbed just reported that the proposed shared bakery facilities under East Harlem's La Marqueta are still happening: LINK. Right now, this is the EDC plan to revitalize the majority empty stalls in the only building that is up and running along the Park Avenue tracks at 115th Street. There are few vendors up front in this space but the back end apparently is empty. This plan may be contradictory to the new La Marqueta Mile proposal since the bakeries are only for production and will interrupt the continuous, open air retail row that has been recently proposed for the length of 111th to 133rd Street: LINK. We reported on the bakery facility currently established on the eastside of La Marqueta this week and this is separate from the EDC plan to revive the tracks. The city's Economic Development Corporation basically owns La Marqueta so they will have the final say in the matter.

☞ READ: Beurre & Sel to Open at La Marqueta

Saturday, September 15th, Beurre & Sell debuts at La Marqueta, 1590 Park Avenue and East 115th Street. A retail bakery called Beurre & Sel (which translates to Salt & Butter) will be opening this Saturday at the La Marqueta market in East Harlem. The Times has an article on the mother & son team who specialize in French sablé cookies and will be debuting there shop over at the historic underpass market at La Marqueta. Expect mostly sweet offerings but apparently there will also be a limited savory assortment. Read more in the NY Times: LINK

☞ SEE: More & More La Marqueta in the News

East Harlem's famous and formerly declining La Marqueta market at Park and 116th just got another feature story but this time on the local news channel NY1: LINK.  It seems like the word is definitely out since another vendor has joined on since last month which ticks up the total count to 11 right now.  Hot Bread Kitchen also confirmed with us that they too will be opening a retail stand in the near future so the market  under the Park Avenue underpass is finally growing again.  As reported previously, the legendary El Barrio market used to have hundreds of vendors several decades ago and now the few longtime holdouts such as Jose's Meat Market are enjoy a bit of synergy with the added neighbors.

New vendors such as SpaHa Cafe, Urban Garden Center, Buried Treasure farms, Breezy Hills Orchard and Viva Produce are enthusiastic about serving their new community and the NY1 video shows that many are happy with the changes.  It's not quite bustling yet but as word gets out, La Marqueta will probably be a Harlem must-see destination in the coming years.  Calendars should also be marked for Wednesday, February 2nd from 4:00 PM-7:00 PM since the official open house for the new La Marqueta is scheduled for next week on that date.

CELEBRATE: THE FIRST NIGHT MARKET AT LA MARQUETA

Saturday, December 7th, 14th and 21st, 4:00PM-10:00PM, Harlem Night Market at La Marqueta, 1590 Park Avenue between 115th and 116th Street.   Manhattan's first night market will be happening  over at the north part of La Marqueta which has just gone under a $5 million renovation to encase the Metro North underpass in glass for year round activities.  This section of the historic market located between 115th and 116th Street will now host the Harlem Night Market on 3 consecutive Saturdays this month to celebrate the holidays.

Music by uptown's own DJ Stormin Normin alongside local small businesses and entrepreneurs such as La Fonda Boricua, Harlem Shake, Flaco Coquito, Sugar Hill Creamery, Sprinkle Splash Sweet Shoppe, the Harlem Pie Man and many more will be featured.  Drinks will be abundant with the help of East Harlem Bottling Co., Serengeti Teas & Spices, Flaco Coquito & Los Sabores de mi Tierra.

Families can come early and take selfies with Santa and the Three Kings from 4:00PM-6:00PM and enjoy the winter holiday decor that will light up the newly restored historic space featuring festive concession stands along with public bathrooms.  Learn more about the renovated La Marqueta in East Harlem can be found in our previous post: LINK


HarlemBespoke.com 2019

☞ REVIVE: More Momentum at La Marqueta

There's some new signs of life over at East Harlem's La Marqueta and DNAinfo just posted photos of vendors recently added to the historic market located at the Park Avenue train underpass. There used to be over 500 vendors 60 years ago at the neighborhood open air market that spans from 111th to 116th Street but those numbers dwindled to about a dozen in recent years.  New vendors that have just arrived include the Urban Garden Center, Breezy Hill Orchard, SpaHa Cafe's satellite branch and the Hot Bread Kitchen facility.

The vendor count is now at 10 but momentum seems to be picking up for the old Marqueta along with manufacturing that's popping up on the surrounding blocks.  Since bakery outlets such as Fat Witch and Magnolia have set up in the immediate area, they should really get a couple of retail booths started at La Marqueta.  Hot Bread Kitchen should (in our humble opinion) then set up a retail operation for the artisan breads that are baked as part of their training program.   As more and more vendors start to appear, this area would ideally become the central open air market for all of Harlem.  Get more details in DNAinfo: LINK.  Check out our past post on the structural proposal that some are trying to push to revamp the look of the entire market: LINK.  Top photo courtesy Jeff Mays at DNAinfo

☞ SHOP: The New La Marqueta to Open in July?

New York Magazine reports on the farmer's market food truck that is set to launch their offerings at the new and improved La Marqueta on July 1st. A 32 year old banker and his cousin decided to get a truck to sell produce and meats from their family farm (which has been around since the 1760's) and to circumvent all the paperwork that one usually has to go through to get set up in the city's regular farmer's markets. They also just got approval for accepting food stamps so the community at large will be able to benefit from the regionally grown goods.

As far as La Marqueta is concerned, there's been talk of reviving the market that sits under the Metro North tracks in East Harlem and it seems like there's some activity at hand. Last year, there was a lot of news about setting up bakery shops inside the formerly popular local market on Park Avenue, between 111th and 116th Street. There hasn't been much said about it since then, so this bit of new information is encouraging. Fortunately, things seem to be a go at this point and a farmers market will be part of the big picture for the new La Marqueta. Read more about the farm truck in the New York Magazine article: LINK. Photo by Ulysses

INTRODUCING: VENDY PLAZA AT LA MARQUETA

Vendy Plaza at La Marqueta, Sundays from Noon-6:00PM  at East 116th and Park Avenue.  Move over Smorgasborg!  Foodies in Manhattan now have an outdoor dining destination that has a wonderful mix of old and new flavors of Harlem.  The revival of La  Marqueta in East Harlem has become a reality based on the successful late Spring launch this past weekend of Vendy Plaza.  El Barrio's traditional market place under the Metro North tracks had hundreds of vendors a few decades ago but by the 80s the decline of the city pretty much shut things down.  With a new $3 million investment from the city,  the outdoor market now has several fully seated platforms along with lighting and electricity which showcases up to a couple of dozen food vendors each week during the warm weather seasons.

This was actually the second event of spring but had all of the locals and politicians out in full force including Mayor de Blasio.  We arrived shortly after noon and by 1:00PM the block was buzzing with curious, hungry food shoppers and longtime locals just hanging out.  What is great about the mix of food sellers at Vendy Plaza is that there are quite a few vendors from the old El Barrio neighborhood represented selling traditional roasted pork, empanadas and rice dishes alongside newer ventures such as the specialty biscuit bakery, wood oven pizza or Indian samosa stand.

There were also traditional Harlem offerings such as southern barbecue, Jamaican flavored soul food from Mighty Edibles and the absolutely refreshing cold press watermelon juice from the guys at H2Melon.  A strong majority of uptown merchants were on hand but the coconut guy from Buschwick gets a shout out for cracking the fresh fruit open with a special hammer that puts a hole in the shell which perfectly fits a straw.  Beer and wine are also served on site for those who want a little bit more out of their afternoon but we were too busy checking out all of the delicious food options.

For a Sunday culinary adventure, we highly recommend Vendy Plaza and really see this new incarnation of La Marqueta growing even bigger in the next few years.  The Urban Garden Center is also just on the north side of the block so there are many reason to drop by for a couple of hours on the historic site and tasting a few of specialties at the plaza is definitely more pocket friendly than heading out for a tradtional brunch.

☞ INTRODUCING: The La Marqueta Open House

Wednesday February 2nd, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at La Marqueta, Park Avenue and 115th Street. The open house for the new La Marqueta will happen this afternoon so drop by to check out vendors old and new such as Jose's Meat Market, Breezy Hill Orchard,  the Urban Garden Center and SpaHa Cafe.  Visitors will be treated to give aways, gift bags, seminars (Urban Garden Centerwill do a How-To seminar on "Plants in Suspension") and good old-fashioned community relations. For more information on the new La Marqueta, check out our past post: LINK

☞ SHOP: La Marqueta Revival

NY1 - City accepting proposals for Harlem's La Marqueta

The NY1 video shows the many sides of the fight to help La Marqueta become a valid cultural institution once more. Last month, the cities Economic Development Corporation asked for the public's take on what the new designs for La Marqueta might look like but nothing has been shown as of this point. Read more on the past post of La Marquetta: LINK

☞ SHOP: La Marqueta Garden Center Arrives

We mentioned in October that Dmitri's Garden Center on the Upper East Side will be opening the Urban Garden Center at La Marqueta and it seems that they have arrived this past weekend. The soon-to-be largest garden center in Manhattan apparently had a soft opening for the holidays and has lined the underpass at East 116th Street and Park Avenue with an array of trees and holiday wreaths.  From the past press release, it would seem that more garden furnishing and plants will come along as the business forms in the next coming months: LINK.  La Marqueta used to have hundreds of vendors at its height several decades ago but the East Harlem cultural icon has been diminished to almost nothing in the past few years. Efforts to revive the open air market has just recently picked up momentum with this new garden business and the Hot Bread Kitchen's arrival that will happen in the next few months: LINK.  Check out our past post for more information on La Marqueta: LINK

☞ SHOP: La Marqueta Flea Market

Flea Marqueta, Sundays starting June 23rd from 12:00 Noon to 6:00PM and will continue until the end of October at The Urban Garden Center under La Marqueta, 116th Street and Park Avenue. The Urban Garden Center underneath the Park Avenue tracks will be organizing Flea Marqueta which will feature a  nice collection of local artisans, artists, unique find vendors, unique packaged and cooked to order food operators, produce and farmer's market vendors, entertainers and more.  Check out the official website for more details and also vendor applications: LINK

INTRODUCING: MODERN RENOVATIONS AT LA MARQUETA

Harlem Bespoke:  Renovations for the north part of La Marqueta between 115th and 116th Street on Park Avenue started up at the beginning of this year and it now looks like everything is almost complete.  We walked by the historic market place in El Barrio that used to have hundreds of local merchants but has had a major decline since the mid 20th Century when cheaper fast food and bodegas became more dominant in the neighborhood.  Today only a handful of merchants can be found in the south end of the 115th Street section but that is about to change.

☞ READ: Magnolia Bakery Arriving in East Harlem

Before anyone gets too excited, the famous Magnolia Bakery is only establishing a manufacturing facility at the growing bakery row by La Marqueta according to today's Wall Street Journal: LINK.  As we mentioned in the past, the city is offering incentives for the baking industry to set up shop along the east side of Park Avenue in the 120's and Chelsea's Fat Witch Bakery has already established their own manufacturing shop next door to Magnolia's new location: LINK.  The area around La Marqueta has apparently been zoned properly for this type of industry and the rents which are up to a third less than anywhere else in the city provide the incentive for businesses to move in. Within the La Marqueta underpass itself, we also previously mentioned that Hot Bread Kitchen will soon be setting up so there actually does seem to be ways that the government can encourage the return of industry back into the city: LINK.  We just hope some of these new guys will eventually decide to open up a few small stores or outlets in Harlem (or they can at least have stands at the local farmers markets).

☞ INTRODUCING: East Harlem's Marqueta Mile

There have been several efforts over the past decade to revive the famous La Marqueta market that sits under the Park Avenue train tracks in East Harlem and the most recent one has been picking up some interest this week. The Harlem Community Development Corporation (CDC) plans to extend the old area which currently spans from 111th to 116th Street and extend it to 133rd Street. This current La Marqueta Mile proposal was approved by the Center for an Urban Future last Thursday.

So what is the new design all about? The architects at Meta Brunzema will deconstruct the remaining structures under the viaduct (top two photos) and basically design various geometric themed sections under city block-long sections below the tracks. There's the drunken box vendor stalls that teeter in different directions at the 111th Street entrance, a stacked cubed section with hydropronic, contained roof gardens at the 112th Street entrance (last two photos) and the winding, undulating shops with the steel trellis lights hanging overhead at the 118th section. As for the existing farm murals, the wall of that brick building will be dismantled and the painted sections will be installed in one of the new spaces: LINK.

Supporters of the proposal have been calling it the Harlem High Line since that downtown project was such a success. The main difference is that this is more of an adaptive reuse market space than it is a green space (such as the High Line). This current plan was backed by Irwin Cohen who developed the Chelsea Market in the Meat Packing District and will be presented to Communty Board 11 for review. The land is owned by the city so that approval from the EDC will be another step. This week's article from DNAinfo has more details: LINK. Read more about history of the local market that used to house over 500 hundred vendors and served uptowns Puerto Rican community in our past post: LINK

☞ READ: Hot Bread Kitchen Opens at La Marqueta

Crain's reports today that the the $1.5 million incubator bakery project that takes up a third of the La Marqueta space under the Park Avenue tracks has finally opened as of yesterday: LINK.  The Hot Bread Kitchen organization (which teaches culinary classes to immigrant women in tandem with running a baking business) will oversea the project that is designed to aid small baking businesses in the area expand by leasing out the affordable large facilities now available. According to the article, La Marqueta has about 10,000 square foot of open air market beneath the underpass but most of the local vendors have long disappeared.  With the arrival of Magnolia Bakery alongside Fat Witch's baking facility across the street, the government efforts to revive the area for the baking industry seems to apparently be working. There's a great video on Hot Bread Kitchen in our past post for those who want to learn more about the organization: LINK

☞ RECYCLE: Clothing Recycling at La Marqueta

Saturday, November 19th, 12:00 PM -5:00 PM, Clothing Recycling at La Marqueta, 115th Street and Park Avenue. This Saturday Grow NYC, Go Green and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will co-sponsor a textiles and clothing recycling event at La Marqueta in East Harlem from Noon to 5:00pm. The goal of this event is to remove textiles from the waste stream and recycle them into new materials. This is a great opportunity for Harlem residents to do something good for the environment and the overall goal is to collect over 3 tons of textiles. There will also be a free energy efficient light bulb giveaway at the event.

☞ SHOP: Crowds Greeted at a New La Marqueta

The dreary weather yesterday didn't stop the crowds and more than a few press members to descend on the newly revamped La Marqueta at Park Avenue and 115th. Officially starting at 4:00 PM, the Open House didn't really pick up until around 4:30 PM and the above photos show some of the action that was happening at East Harlem's historic market beneath the train underpass.  There are a few great local farmers on hand, SpaHa Cafe, Urban Garden Center, regional wines and great old timers such as the salted fish vendor in the renovated market place that really shown its potential last night.  Here's a real chance to have a solid indoor market uptown so everyone should make it out to this one and help support the local businesses.  La Marqueta is open for most of the week except for Friday & Sunday so make a point to drop by and see what the excitement is about.  We will have more photos up on our Facebook site this afternoon: LINK

☞ READ: Bakeries Targeted for La Marqueta

The New York Times reports that the city is trying to encourage bakeries and other food businesses under the city-owned commercial space along the elevated train tracks of Park Avenue in East Harlem. In the mid-20th century, La Marqueta thrived underneath those tracks as the ethnic food market for El Barrio, but it is a shell of its former existence today. The above photo shows the farm murals along the warehouse wall sections closer to East 116th Street. If the city has its way with providing discounted, kitchen-based, commercial spaces to local business, pastries, cakes and baked goods might be the next paintings to line the walls of this part of Spanish Harlem. Read more in yesterday's NY Times: LINK. For more on La Marqueta, take a look at the previous post: LINK.

☞ ARCHITECTURE: La Marqueta Design

An image from 2003 of what La Marqueta might have looked like. The sleek, modern exterior that would replace the old brick warehouses and the more current amusement park aesthetics of the the open air market might not be the most interesting thing about the above illustration. More innovative are the extended side walks along the viaduct and limited traffic lanes that would have made the market area more inviting and pedestrian friendly. Read more on La Marqueta in the previous post: LINK