The City’s retail markets were all constructed during the LaGuardia Administration in an effort to provide affordable space for push cart vendors, thereby reducing congestion on the City’s streets. The markets are subject to New York State Department of Agriculture regulations which restrict uses within the markets principally to agriculture and agriculture related products.

Located in the Belmont section of the Bronx, the Arthur Avenue Market is leased to a cooperative association of the market’s vendors. In 2001, NYCEDC improved the shopping experience by installing new air conditioning at the market.

Located in the Lower East Side along Essex Street, NYCEDC rescued this market from a failed developer. We undertook $1.5 million of improvements and consolidated vendors into the largest of the four market buildings. The market is directly managed and maintained by NYCEDC staff members, who also administer permits with several dozen vendors selling an array of food and related goods.

Visit the Essex Street Market Website.

NYCEDC oversees the City’s Wholesale Food Markets, including the 329 acre Hunts Point Food Distribution Center (HPDC), the largest food distribution center in the hemisphere. HPDC includes the NYC Terminal (Produce) Market, the Hunts Point Meat Market, and the newly completed Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point. Other meat and produce markets like the Gansevoort Meat Market and the Brooklyn Terminal Market complete the NYCEDC wholesale food market portfolio.