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Architect-US

The new Essex Market

Out with the old and in with the new. While people from the city often lament the loss of old things in NYC, sometimes this loss leads to the birth of something new and wonderful. The old Essex Market (located on Delancey and Essex Streets on the Lower East Side) was an authentic “street market” where for many years locals in the LES neighborhood purchased produce and specialty items such as meet, fish, coffee and baked goods.

I was also home to Shopsin’s, a LES institution. In a neighborhood that witnessed gentrification and price increases over the years, the original Essex Market was a place where locals could shop for quality produce at a reasonable price. Over the past few years, the LES has undergone massive redevelopment, which ultimately led to the closing of the original Essex Market and the building of a new Essex Market on the south side of Delancey Street inside a new residential building.

The new Market was designed with great purpose and actually adds something that the neighborhood very much needed (a large indoor food hall with meeting space and a lively place where one can go to get work done, read, eat and relax). Fortunately, some of the old food vendors from the original Essex Market are still in operation in the new Market. I was pleased to see the inclusion of these vendors among the various new vendors (some with high end food offerings). The new market is housed within a large glass structure that is filled with light and which welcomes all visitors. This is definitely a great place to spend a cold winter day (as I often did during February).

So, in this case, I am pleased to say – out with the old and in with the new.

Marta Seoane

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