Senator Dilan’s Efforts Help Save “La Marqueta”
Earlier this year, the merchants who occupy “La Marqueta” were told by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of the City of New York that they were planning to close the market and they had until June 15th to leave and set-up shop somewhere else. EDC had proposed to close the market in order to make way for affordable housing. When Senator Dilan heard of this he immediately met with the vendors and scheduled a meeting with EDC to get to the bottom of what was going on.
According to EDC, the market had been operating at a yearly loss of around $250,000 for the past few years. The original plan put forth by EDC called for the closing of the market and the creation of affordable housing units. It was unclear what EDC’s definition of “affordable” was and it was also unclear what would be coming into the space that was previously occupied by the vendors. Merchants were offered relocation assistance packages and were told they could operate in space at the Williamsburg Houses on Graham Avenue. However this space is much smaller and has very different pedestrian traffic. While it may have sounded nice on paper, it was not a viable option for the vendors.
“We now have the opportunity to engage the community and work with EDC to come up with a plan that will benefit the residents and patrons of this area of Williamsburg. It is my hope we can go ahead with the affordable housing project while allowing the vendors to return and continue to offer the products and services people have come to rely on. I look forward to future discussions with EDC and the vendors to come up with the best possible plan,” Senator Dilan concluded.
