Flea Markets Manhattan, NY- Immaculate Conception Church yard

09/24/2023

This flea market had bad manager for many years.
It is hard to comprehend how such respected institution have given the management of this flea market (that takes place in the church's grounds) to one old low educated woman who enjoyed herself playing power games with the church property.
She showed strong favoritism, charging low fees to her friends and she was chasing away serious vendors with outrageous fees.
Thanks God, I heard she is finally gone.

08/25/2022

Vendors on the sidewalks in front of the church HAVE NEVER BEEN PART OF THE COMMUNITY FLEA MARKET at the backyard of the church, though for many years there were small vendors on the sidewalk selling food and second hand items like clothing and shoes.
These vendors have never been problem in the past until a group of drug addicts move from Sixth Avenue and 25th Street to 14th Street and First Avenue.
They used to set a small stand on piece of fabric or plastic, clean the site before they setup and when they leave.
Unfortunately everything became out of control after the new guys came.
The sidewalk became public dump last 18 months and people apparently influenced by illicit drugs and alcohol threaten the pedestrians.

03/25/2022

Recently there is much talk about the Chinese food vendors on 14th Street flea market.
Some accused them of stealing the food designated for poor and needy people at the community food banks and selling it for cash on the flea market.
But how much money average Chinese old woman makes on the flea market?
On average Chinese food vendors do not make more then $20 a day!
Rarely they may make more up to $40 or $50.
To make these money they have to getup early and go to the line in front of the food bank.
There they have to wait 2 hours for their turn to get two bags of groceries.
Part of these groceries they carry home, the rest they try to sell on the flea market to people who do not want to getup early and go on line in front of the food bank.
The $20 they make come through too much hard work.

03/24/2022

During the week some vendors sell food, second hand clothing and shoes on the sidewalk in front of the church
from the corner of 14th Street with First Avenue
to the corner of 14th Street with Avenue A.
Unfortunately lately among these sidewalk vendors there are several drunks and drug addicts who talk loud, scream, quarrel, fight and are engaged in disorderly conduct.
These few "bad apples" create bad image of the whole flea market, that has been peaceful and beneficial for the community flea market thus far for many years.
It is probably not a big deal for professional police detectives to identify the trouble makers and drug dealers and restrain them from creating troubles at this flea market.
Instead police raids harmless and peaceful Chinese vendors who sell food and second hand items, give them fine tickets and chase the good vendors away.
But as soon as the police is gone, trouble makers are back on the sidewalk in front of the church and they continue to cause troubles.
MAYBE, THE RIOTERS FROM LAST SUMMER WERE RIGHT:
WE NEED REAL POLICE REFORM???
CURRENT POLICE ACTIONS AT THIS FLEA MARKET ARE SO SENCELESS.
GOOD PEOPLE ARE PUNISHED AND CHASED AWAY,
WHILE THE REAL TROUGLEMAKERS GET AWAY AND CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME TROUBLES NOT ONLY FOR THE FLEA MARKET BUT ALSO FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY?
Trouble makers wander in the neighborhood and steal delivered packages left in front of buildings.
They cut the locks of the bicycle parked at bike stands.
They build their shacks on the sidewalk, where they live and sleep.
Brandishing knives and cutters for no good reason (just because they want to get money for the trash they found in the garbage or stole from somewhere)
LACK OF ACTION AGAINST THE REAL TROUBLE MAKERS AT THIS FLEA MARKET ON BEHALF OF THE POLICE IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND.

12/15/2021

From the times when the city of Manhattan was still bordering marshes along East River and nowadays Avenue C was the last street before the marshland,
every Saturday and Sunday in the section now between 10th and 6th Street on Avenue C there has been a big flea market.
There were no community organizers or vendor's fees.
People from all over were just bringing what they have for sale and placing it on the ground along Avenue C between 6th and 10th Street.
During the AIDS crisis and Crack Epidemic the flea market became a known place where illicit drugs are sold.
For this reason this old flea market was closed in 1994.
But from this flea market, local low income people used to buy cheap food, second hand clothing and shoes and household items.
Community leader at that time Armando Perez arranged Roman Catholic Church to provide space for the flea market free of charge during the weekends at the parking lot of of
Mary Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church
on Avenue A between 11th and 12th Streets.
When the Catholic church and the Catholic school were close and subsequently demolished the flea market moved to the yard of
The Church of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church on
414 East 14th Street, near First Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10009
and since then the flea market of Lower East Side is held there every weekend.
During the week some vendors sell food, second hand clothing and shoes on the sidewalk in front of the church from the corner of 14th Street with First Avenue to the corner of 14th Street with Avenue A.

03/14/2019

The flea market in the yard of Immaculate Conception Church on 414 East 14th Street is one of the oldest flea markets in Manhattan, NY

11/03/2016