Loose Ends

are dogs allowed at brooklyn flea?

Posted by: guest at April 5, 2008 9:54 AM

Posted by: guest at April 5, 2008 7:52 PM

No dogs at the Flea! Oh Brownstoner, how could you!

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 1:26 PM

your flea market sucks and has completely ruined fort greene. we're a quiet community and we like it like that. we don't want the foot traffic or extra dollars on sundays. you're violating our quality of life. please pack up all your over-priced stuff and leave. thank you.

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 3:13 PM

This "flea market" would more aptly be called a craft fair with mostly nick knacks that are not useful to anyone but the mediocre "brooklynites" that promote this plastic vision of what is cool. This "flea market" has no grit no soul and it's wrong to call it a flea market it has no spirit or quirkiness or spontaneity. If you're looking for something real and unexpected you will be dreadfully disappointed. This is a laughable farce and a bad joke and I completely identify with the previous post. If you're going to bring something to a neighborhood with as much historic cache as Fort Green you should at the very least do it in a right and respectful manner. Shame, shame but you can't blame people for their ignorance or can you?

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 5:16 PM

Awesome flea market. Lots of great stuff. Most of it from Brooklyn. It was cool to see all the different vendors, antiques and lots of hip crafts. The turnout was amazing dispite the weather. It's great to have this in the neighborhod. Can't wait to go back for more!

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 7:51 PM

guest 3:13, are you speaking for all of the local business owners when you say that fort greene doesn't want the "extra dollars on sundays"? cause yeah, i'm sure all of the people who own shops and cafes in fg/ch are really pissed off that thousands of potential customers are coming to their neighborhood every sunday....

guest 5:16, why don't you show fort greene some "respect" and spell it correctly....

if you think the items at the flea are overpriced, well, don't shop there. but i'd say they're not. some are more expensive than others, sure. but keep in mind that a lot of things there are handmade by craftspeople or artists running small businesses, so will necessarily be more expensive--you're paying for quality and uniqueness, and supporting independent designers.

maybe "flea market" isn't the right name for the market, fine, if you want to go with a limited/traditional definition of the term. but as an outdoor market, and artisan market, a vintage market, and an addition to our neighborhood, i'd say it absolutely succeeds.

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 10:51 PM

i have a two shot i took at the flea market

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richlouis/2395072544/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richlouis/2393460019/

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 11:47 PM

your flea market sucks and has completely ruined fort greene. we're a quiet community and we like it like that. we don't want the foot traffic or extra dollars on sundays. you're violating our quality of life. please pack up all your over-priced stuff and leave. thank you.

Posted by: guest at April 6, 2008 3:13 PM

This "flea market" would more aptly be called a craft fair with mostly nick knacks that are not useful to anyone but the mediocre "brooklynites" that promote this plastic vision of what is cool. This "flea market" has no grit no soul and it's wrong to call it a flea market it has no spirit or quirkiness or spontaneity. If you're looking for something real and unexpected you will be dreadfully disappointed. This is a laughable farce and a bad joke and I completely identify with the previous post. If you're going to bring something to a neighborhood with as much historic cache as Fort Green you should at the very least do it in a right and respectful manner. Shame, shame but you can't blame people for their ignorance or can you?

Are you the kind of people who like AY or hate it?
If you snotty folks are the people we are trying to "save the nabe" for....well gosh I might have to reconsider!
What are you shaming? What exactly happened today that you are shaming?

Apparently everything you need to know you did not learn in Kindergarten - that of, if you don't have anything nice to say...don't say it all!

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 12:46 AM

your flea market sucks and has completely ruined fort greene. we're a quiet community and we like it like that. we don't want the foot traffic or extra dollars on sundays. you're violating our quality of life. please pack up all your over-priced stuff and leave. thank you.

Is this how quite nice neighborly folks behave?
Bring on the rowdy scoundrel neighbors then!
Was Ft. Greene ruined today in one day?

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 12:50 AM

I really wanted to love the flea market as I have been a long time fan of the ones in Chelsea, but I have to say that the Brownstoner flea market is a veru big diappointment. This "flea market" has WAY more to do with the "new" NYC than any of the spirit of the older flea markets that it wishes to mimic. Hipster lifestyle accoutrement do not make a flea market. Yesterday was a sea of goofy t-shirts, tote bags and other "crafts" with very little furniture, not to mention anything truly unique or interesting. I found it very telling that the longest line was for the waffle folks.

Lets call this market what it is: another shopping destination for the young, white, monied, vanilla, unique-but-really all the same crowd.

It's a real shame.

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 9:02 AM

I was pleasantly surprised by the flea market. There were plenty of vintage/antiques (and some actually affordable) to suite my traditional flea market cravings and while crafty things aren't at the top of my list it was fun to see what people were up to. Plus, I am sure the law of supply and demand will help to fine-tune the vendors based on what sort items really sell at the flea. I think the layout of the space and the quantity, quality and variety of goods was great. And even with the cold, it was also just nice to walk around and browse on a Sunday afternoon.

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 11:49 AM

This is really a shame.

I'm sad to see my neighborhood turned into a parade every Sunday so that a demographic of New Yorkers can fulfill their Sunday afternoons by spending money. I live in Fort Greene for the quality of life and the community, and not for the propensity to spend. A good life (and a great community) is not about money, not for me, but maybe it is for you. (I'm sure it is for Brownstoner since they are making $75-150/booth x 200 booths...that's a nice penny).

Don't let Fort Greene sell out.

I urge opponents of the Flea Market to contact our local reps:

NYC Council Member Letitia James:
james@council.nyc.ny.us

Department of Building, John Chiusano:
BKopenapp@buildings.nyc.gov

Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz:
Schapman@brooklynbp.org

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 12:02 PM

Generally speaking I agree with 5:16 and 9:02 - although I wasn't too disappointed because it was pretty much exactly what I expected. 10:51 makes a valid point about this being good for local business, though if I had to guess I would say that the kind of business that will benefit the most from the weekly onslaught of hipsters reflects the "new NYC" as 9:02 puts it, much more than the folks who have been toughing it out in the neighborhood for years. I could be wrong. Anyway, this just isn't a place where any real flea market fan is going to be happy. People who love flea markets love them because of the sense of adventure, that they're going to find a gem that no one else noticed, and it's going to cost a fraction of what it should. The chances of this happening at Brooklyn Flea are zero. You're competing with a thousand other design-savvy people who are looking for the same kind of things you are, and are willing to pay more money for it than you are. You might as well be shopping in the East Village. I have nothing against the vendors selling new merchandise - I am friendly with several of them and think they have very nice stuff. But with many of them already having widespread distribution in retail stores, I didn't really see the point. I would have been much more excited to see local people selling stuff I couldn't have seen anywhere else (and was also interested in). Eh, so it wasn't for me. It seems to make plenty of people happy, so let 'em have it. I'm sure if I lived in Ft. Greene I'd complain a lot more, but eventually I'd just learn to make plans to get the heck out of the neighborhood on Sundays. Day trip to Astoria, anyone?

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 1:10 PM

The cannoli were great. I agree that it's a bit heavy on new arts & crafts, how many ironic t-shirts or hand-printed notecards can anyone really use? I would love to see more used stuff, and not necessarily hip, vintage items, but items of genuine utility. But, the market seems to be a huge success so I doubt that anything is going to change soon. Congratulations!

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 1:33 PM

Could someone actually enforce the dog ban? I saw dozens (including in the photos you posted!) And how about a smoking ban? And most important, stroller parking! It's crowded- carry your kid around the flea instead of running over your fellow shoppers!

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 1:38 PM

In response to 12:02 and other furious people....

The people that run the flea market need to make money to pay themselves AND pay their staffers and I'm sure they pay rent for the space. A "pretty penny" as you say isn't just going in their pockets. And so what if they do make money? This is their JOB. Last I checked I wasn't working for free. That's called charity. You are being unfair.

The market isn't "all about money." People are there to sell, yes, but a lot of the stuff for sale is a labor of love (I didn't say ALL, but certainly some). I really don't think the 70 year old woman selling homemade scarves was raking in the dough and I doubt she was there for that sole purpose. She just wants to make scarves and try to sell them. A lot of these sellers are small small small businesses and while some of their prices seem high, they really have to charge that to make any profit. Their profit probably doesn't even cover their labor.

You talk about Ft. Greene like it's some untapped neighborhood, all about community and you don't want these hipsters coming in and ruining it for you. Guess what? Ft. Greene is as "hip" or as "done" as every other BK neighborhood around here. Try to buy a brownstone there for less that a million bucks.
Move out to Bushwick if you're so disturbed. Or better yet, Nebraska.

And sure, call up Marty Markowitz. I'm sure he's chomping at the bit, waiting for outraged citizens like you to call and protest.

He was at the damn ribbon-cutting for godssake.

Why do people have to be so outraged? Is it REALLY necessary?

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 2:02 PM

I agree with everyone. To all the super angry folks - calm down it's not that serious and it's inevitable that people are going to come to Clinton Hill. Pratt has been making that area "better" for years now. Like it or not, it's happening - I live there and I have seen it and accepted it. But, at the same time. I was not impressed with the Flea. I just think more screening should be done, however possible. There was a faded baby picture being sold for 120 dollars?! I know this is NYC but seriously people chill with your prices. I am not paying ridiculous amounts of money for the things you bring down from your grandmothers basement in Massachusetts. There wasn't much quality in the "treasures". I can justify the price of the crafts much more, but nothing caught my eye. I was excited about the Flea, but all in all, I will continue to travel up North where you can still find a deal and A LOT more character.

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 3:03 PM

You people act like a Walmart just landed in the middle of the neighborhood.

This is a once a week little flea market where the only "big" business is Choice Market.

Calm down.

Posted by: guest at April 7, 2008 3:13 PM

Whose neighborhood is it? Cut it out with the proprietary "my neighborhood" NIMBY harping. Buy a condo in a gated community and run for election on the board and then you can have it your way. Meantime sure, let's all lament that the days of 6th Ave are gone. Trust that they will return as "'our neighborhood" deteriorates into conditions resembling those of the Third World because New World Order globalist elite sociopaths (who offed JFK, MLK, RFK and who pulled off OK City and 9/11) are looting this so-called Republic while we who think we are urban sophisticates are utterly ignorant of the big picture (all Presidents are puppets, etc etc).

Then all that cool stuff you and me have been buying for our cool apartments and cooler girlfriends will re-surface -- at great prices!

Isn't this awesome? I got it from this guy on the street for a sawbuck

Long ago your neighborhood was founded by greedy predatory corporatists with excellent tastes in brownstone details and who excelled at extracting high quality workmanship out of disgustingly cheap iimmigrant labor.

Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 5:48 AM

Im super excited to have the flea market in Fort Greene but I was a bit disappointed. It did feel over-priced and full of stuff one could find at kate's paperie. I've heard a bunch of people say they wish there was just more junk (like Chelsea Market) and less brooklyn artisan silkscreened (90's-looking) prints/pillows/stationery/baby clothes etc...I hope its different next week.

Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 4:16 PM

I live one block away and have to say that I really liked having more humans on foot in the neighborhood. What's wrong with people? This is a city. DeKalb was livey and it felt great. I walked by the market -- didn't really go in but will check it out this weekend.

Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 6:59 PM

The refurbished 50's end table for $1300 said it all.

If I'm prepared to spend almost $1500 on a little cleaned up and shined 50's table, I'm not going to go to the corner of some schoolyard in Brooklyn to purchase it. I'm going to go into an expensive store in Soho and get it. And the ultimate irony is that it would probably be cheaper.

And I know how you hipsters love irony.

Posted by: guest at April 9, 2008 2:12 PM

i got the sense from brownstoner's post that they themselves have an idea of what they need more of, and it trends toward what many of you are saying. I think we need to applaud them for stepping up and making a go of something that, honestly, you really have to want to do, given the cost and energy that must go into it. I'm convinced that it will only get better and deep as time goes by. that's what they want, that's what we want. as for foot traffic, etc...I think the massive crowd had something to do with it being the opening day and the press. it will cool a bit, i'm sure.

Posted by: guest at April 9, 2008 3:48 PM

I;m glad the flea market opened, and I wasn't disappointed because it was exactly what I expected. Overpriced vintage, hipster crafty, social networking, gallery meets antique store in a school yard.

This flea market was blogged about up the you know what before it even opened. The best finds and the best fleas usually fly way below the radar of the hipster blogosphere.

I will continue to attend this flea, but I am not expecting to find great bargains and/or interesting things like in the old Chelsea hot spots of yore.

Posted by: guest at April 9, 2008 4:09 PM

The anger in some of the posts is laughable. People's preferences will dictate what sells well at the flea market. As for some poster's claiming the once a week flea market is ruining "my" neighborhood, get over yourself. "Your" neighborhood, like all neighborhoods, is changing and will continue to do so for so long as it exists. The fact that Forte Greene and Clinton Hill were economically depressed, and often crime plagued, areas from the late 60s into the early nineties doesn't mean they will always remain as such. In fact, that depressed period is really at odds with the 150+ year history of these neighborhoods - the revitalization of neglected and shunned brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods is really a return to what they originally were like during the first century or so of their existence - only now they are fortunately much more vibrant and mixed from a cultural and racial point of view. Forte Greene and Clinton Hill are already well past the "hip" "up and coming" phase, so enough of the whining about it. The "grit and soul" that some disgruntled posters say is lacking seems to be a distaste for something they think is too upmarket for their tastes. Fine. That's a valid point, and everyone is entitled to their opinions. If you really don't like what is being sold, or have such disdain for the vendors, their wares, or those who shop there, then vote with your feet/wallet and don't shop there. If you support local business, be happy that one day a week they will be sure to be receiving a boost in the arm from those visiting the flea market.

Posted by: guest at April 9, 2008 4:16 PM

just another example of a bunch of egotistical post grad non native New Yorkers coming here and driving the price of everything up while they walk around thinking they are really hip and cool and 'Brooklyn'. Now they have a big schoolyard filled with overpriced ironic stuff that they can stroll through on Sundays.

good for them.

Posted by: guest at April 10, 2008 10:46 AM

I don't care how ironic and how vintage and how hipster the merchandise there is... the prices need to come down or this flea market is not going to make it in its current opening day form going into the future.

Posted by: guest at April 10, 2008 10:48 AM

It's a myth that Chelsea was all under priced. There were bargains there (especially for New York City folks) and there were fakes and misrepresented stuff as antique. It was a fun place and remember, some people were too cheap to pay the buck to get in and dealt over the fence and they owned million dollar brownstones. This market will evolve by what sells, not what is there. Vendors don't come back unless they make money, so I agree with the similar other posts.

Posted by: guest at April 10, 2008 1:12 PM

ebay has pretty much killed the whole NYC flea market culture anyway.

Posted by: guest at April 10, 2008 1:56 PM

even if something is selling for a dollar people will complain about the price. we had a beautiful designer end table in mint condition marked at $75, haggled down to $50 and that still wssn't good enough. you couldn't get a price like that at the Chelsea flea if you knew someone....nor perhaps even at the Salvation Army. the people who complain about stuff being too expensive won't be happy unless they get it for free. we also had a case sofa designed by milo baughman, probably worth over $3000, also in mint condition. we were selling it for $350...and I'm talking an amazing sofa. a "client" walked away screaming "call me when it's $100." pretty sad.

Posted by: guest at April 11, 2008 7:01 PM

i'm a local and had a great time at the flea last weekend.

A few comments:
Please keep the no dog policy. I don't need sparring dogs to trip up my browsing. There is also enough butt sniffing at the flea w/o the dogs.

I think you should consider the flea being all brooklyn based vendors to keep biz w/in the brooklyn community. just a thought.

also ditto to 4:16

Posted by: guest at April 12, 2008 10:58 AM

Is the hipster the new gay? I mean, come on people!! It was perhaps humorous to read all of the complaints and jokes about hipster awareness in every blog and zine back in 2005, but now that we are in the midst of 2008 and the "hipster" has now become a reference to contemporary fashion more so than a demograhic of trust fund artists, it is hardly a justified point of reference for "oops, there goes the neighborhood."

And I totally agree with the person who used Wall Mart as an analogy for all of these naysayers flipping the bird at the flea! This is a flea market or antique market or whatever-you-want-to-call-it market for god's sake, not some corporate mongrel moving in on the hood to take away jobs and fuck with the locals. I think it's amazing that once a week the community is offering an outlet where INDIVIDUALS are presenting their various tastes to the public, regardless of price.

One can hardly judge the entire flea market on one outing. It's just getting on its feet. I'd say for a first time out the gates, run by people who have never done this sort of thing before, you have to give it up! Maybe after it's been rolling for a year or so and there is noticeable destruction being done to the community because if it then bitch all you want. But for the time being it just seems like the majority of those bitching are doing so out of spite. There have been no valid negative points made against the flea and it's discuraging that there is so much energy directed toward defeating the success of others.

The comments about money are the most befuddling. Last time I checked we all had to make money in this world in order to survive. Most of the vendors have found a unique way outside of their day / night jobs and businesses to do just that. Most of them do not just sell there wares at this market, but at several othEr markets in NYC and the entire east coast. To call any of these people out as greedy or "making a fast buck" is not only a contradiction, but disrespEctful, cruel and ignorant as well. The vendors doing the flea work damn hard for that "fast buck" (if they even make a buck at all). I don't think people realize what the whole thing entails to locate or make merchandise, bring merchandise to these markets at the crack of dawn, set up merchandise and stand around all day dealing with various degrees of nasty cynicism in god's knows what kind of weather. It seems easy for many to be accusatory and point fingers about what is wrong with this and that concerning the flea, but until you've actually alotted yourself into this kind of envioronment, which obviously is at times hostile, you should not be so quick to spit vehemence.

And for those who need to rail on and on about how terrible the offerings are there, go ahead and rent a booth and try appeasing the masses with what you think is not only extraordinary but affordable. If anything, it would be an education in understanding that cheap, unique shit don't grow on trees.

Posted by: guest at April 12, 2008 11:51 AM

well put above.
Obviously, you can't please everyone. I really don't understand the animosity towards the mix of vendors. There's alot of cool vintage stuff & cool crafts. What's wrong with supporting local artisans? Sure, there are alot of Tshirts, but so what? There was alot of great stuff. Last week seemed to have more crafts, this week more vintage-y stuff. I didn't find it so expensive. Last week I got a beautiful handmade necklace for $45, this week a shirt for $3, and a record for $5.
I don't think the point of this market is to re-create the Chelsea market, which by the way, didn't seem so cheap to me.

Posted by: guest at April 13, 2008 7:12 PM

As a husband of one of the vendors, and a friend of other vendors, I think the people who are dissing this flea market are lousy New Yorkers, miserable people, and should keep their useless comments to themselves. My wife and I met tons of great people, made many sales, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, even though we were outside for several hours freezing and got sick. I sacrificed my Sunday to help out, and I had a blast. Found some great old records on my break, walked around the neighborhood and had an excellent lunch and stiff scotch at Chez Oscar, as well as bumped into pals I haven't seen in a long time. By the way, I'm from Brooklyn, love the feel of the old neighborhoods, and we need more flea markets like this so people get out and see other people, not hole up in their miserable apartments blogging all day on the internet. I welcome more creativity, interaction with other people, and, yes, supporting Brooklyn artists and artisans by BUYING local. All the creeps who object to this can spend their time in the Salvation Army and brag about their $1 finds, or go to CostCo or Amazon.com with the sea of corporate shyte. Please go elsewhere and leave us New Yorkers to enjoy our city. Cudos to the organizers of the flea market.

Posted by: guest at April 13, 2008 8:12 PM