Can’t-Miss Flea Markets in NYC
Visiting flea markets in NYC has become a weekend ritual for many New Yorkers. Flea markets offer an excellent way to pass the day while shopping for everything from clothes to food. Following is just a few of the can’t-miss markets in the city.
It’s a weekend ritual familiar to many New Yorkers: Wake up, throw on workout clothes, grab a dirty chai latte at a local coffee shop, and hit up the area flea markets. Hauls are carted home before ending the morning/afternoon at a brunch spot heavy on the free booze. Or something like that.
New Yorkers love flea markets because they offer a great way to get their hands on cool, one-of-a-kind items they’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else, including things like antiques, vintage clothes, and quirky furnishings for their NYC homes. People may not flock to New York for its flea markets the way they flock to the Clignacourt or the Porte de Vanves markets in Paris. But the flea market scene here has gone through some pretty notable changes in the past few years, changes that benefit the goodie scavenger. Here are some of the best can’t miss markets.
Brooklyn Flea
Image Source: Flickr/Charles16e
The Brooklyn Flea is considered the big dog of today’s NYC flea market scene. Founded in 2008 by Brooklyn residents Eric Demby and Jonathan Butler (of Brownstoner.com fame), it’s grown from a single Fort Greene location into a spidery behemoth that stretches throughout the borough. Featuring over 150 vendors, the market has expanded to included a separate food component called Smorgasburg. This insanely popular food market takes place in Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridge Park in the warm weather and shares indoor space with the Flea during the cold season.
In addition to offering goodies like classic vinyl from Jones Music or awesome, random black-and-white photos of someone else’s family from dAn’s Parents House, or the most dapper threads from vintage-wear vendor Kingston Twenty One, the market has an awesome selection of food vendors like Dough and the Red Hook Lobster Pound.
176 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Greene, Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (spring through fall)
50 Kent Avenue, Williamsburg, Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (spring through fall)
1000 Dean Street, Crown Heights (Winter 2015), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Annex Markets — the Chelsea Flea Market and the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market
Image Source: Flickr/Karen Horton
Originally a trio of flea markets that has been reduced down to two due to market forces, the Hell’s Kitchen Flea and the Chelsea Flea (formerly the world-famous 26th Street Flea Market) remain a huge force in the NYC flea market universe. These tchotchke wonderlands first became famous with celebrities, designers, and everyday New Yorkers — and the same treasures are available today.
Chelsea Flea, West 25th Street between Broadway and Sixth (uptown side of street), open weekends 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. year round
Hell’s Kitchen Flea, West 39th and 9th, open weekends 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. year round
Artists and Fleas
Image Source: Flickr/mararie
Artists and Fleas, founded by RonenGlimer and Amy Abrams, is a collective of emerging artists that was recently voted one of NYC’s most popular flea markets. Selling everything from home furnishings to the rockingest vintage and handmade clothes to leather goods, the shop maintains a weekly presence at a market in Williamsburg and a daily presence at the Chelsea Market in Chelsea. There’s always something to see, hear, and do here, thanks to a revolving cast of about five dozen vendors and a party vibe set by visiting DJs.
70 North 7th Street, Williamsburg, weekends 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
88 10th Ave. near West 15th Street, NYC , Monday thru Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Main Image Source: Flickr/dumbonyc
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