New Tenants and other updates!

Please join me in welcoming La Union Market at Moore Street Market in Stalls 20 & 21! La Union will be run by Diana and Ramona Rodriguez and will feature high quality fruits and vegetables. You may recognize the name -- Diana and Ramona are daughters of Virgilio Rodriguez, a long-term merchant at Moore Street Market. Glad that his daughters are carrying on the entrepreneurial spirit. This store replaces Abby's Food, which left the market in May.

We also welcome ReConnect Bakery, in Stall 13. Run by the youth who work with Father Jim O'Shea, the bakery will provision the new café that ReConnect is opening on Vernon Avenue in Bed Stuy, but will also serve the general public with artisan breads and other baked goods.  The group has been baking in local convents and monasteries for over a year and really wanted a permanent home at the market. Look for an August launch!

And in Stall 16, where All Stars Cuts closed, we will be welcoming Torie's Treasures, a store run by our flea market maven Arturo Colon -- the store will have jewelry and clothing and other gift items. Look for an August opening.

And we are excited to be talking to two potential tenants -- Lone Star Tacos and Tiberio Custom Meats. Both vendors have sold at New Amsterdam Market and we so hope they come and join us at the market -- if you see them, tell them you want them to come to Moore Street!

We congratulate Body & Soul Bakery, the vegan bakery that joined the market last summer. Deb Gavito tells me that they are now selling at 11 farmers markets in NYC, including Union Square and Grand Army Plaza. Stop by one of her stalls and tell her you're glad she's cooking at Moore Street Market! When she's in full production mode, the market smells great!

Pablo Rivera from Delicias Tainas had heart surgery last week, so we wish him a speedy recovery so that he can get back to selling his delicious Puerto Rican Specialties in Stall 26. Pablo has been  struggling to get FDNY permits for his stall, which has really set back a full opening, but we're going to work with him to see that his stall is properly vented so he can begin making those unique empenadas stuffed with octopus that his customers buy by the dozen!

The Flea Market continues to thrive -- selling out the tables every weekend.

AND THE PUBLIC PLAZA PROJECT IS FINALLY UNDERWAY AFTER 3 YEARS! NYC DOT/NYC DDC have chosen Chelmsford Contracting to do the project and they began preliminary work last week. Hopefully, it will be physically built and ready for planting before the late fall/winter seasons starts. The Plaza will have room for 6 seasonal vendors, so next spring and summer should open up some opportunities for neighborhood entrepreneurs.

The Moore Street Aquaponics Farm has hundreds of tilapia fish incubating in their tank and greens are starting to grow on their floating pods. Thanks to Apple Foundation for their (pending) donation and also to NY Restoration Project for providing in-kind supplies. The concept of urban farms as real producers of local food is growing and we're happy to be a part of that trend.

Hoped to have some pictures to illustrate this posting, but my camera battery died -- next time!

On a personal note, I will be taking time off starting next week, to celebrate my July 27th wedding to Brooklyn Assemblyman Jim Brennan. Jim has had a lifelong commitment to making Brooklyn a better place, and I 'm happy to have found a good man as well as a  soul-mate.

Have a happy summer everyone -- if it gets too hot for you, the Market is beautifully air-conditioned. Come by, eat some good food and cool off!

Joan Bartolomeo
Moore Street Market