Business & Tech

Douglaston Village Green Market Could Debut This Summer

GrowNYC Representatives to Put In Application for 235th Street Site This Week

A city nonprofit group will move forward this week on an application to allow farmers to sell fresh fruit, vegetables and other goods at Douglaston Village’s Long Island Rail Road Station.

Cathy Chambers, who oversees intergovernmental affairs for nonprofit GrowNYC, said a green market could be fully operational at the site as early as July.

Douglas Montgomery, vice president of the neighborhood's garden club, and other community leaders have been in discussions with GrowNYC, which was founded in 1976, to create a green market in the community for two years.

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“I’ve heard a lot of support from the community,” said Jane Stewart, of the Douglaston Local Development Corporation.  “People tell me it can’t come soon enough.”

The market would be in the traffic circle at the LIRR station on 235th Street, which is located in Douglaston Village near P.S. 98. GrowNYC representatives made a trip out to Douglaston this morning to view the proposed site.

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GrowNYC, also known as Greenmarket Farmers Markets, operates the massive market in Union Square. But the nonprofit also runs smaller markets in Glendale’s Shops at Atlas Park, Corona, Jackson Heights, Astoria and Long Island City.

Community leaders and market representatives have agreed that Sunday mornings in July through November would likely be the best time to operate the market.

Montgomery said there would be less competition for parking spots in the neighborhood on the weekend since school would be out and commuters would not need the spaces.

Chambers said an estimated eight to 12 vendors would sell everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to honey, wine, cheese, meat and fish at the market. Hours of operation would likely begin around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. and run through the early to mid-afternoon.

The market would have an on-site manager who would be present during all hours of operation. GrowNYC would also coordinate with the 111th Precinct and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Some community leaders said they liked the idea of the market, but had mixed feelings on the locale.

“People will be double parking and making it difficult for residents to get out,” said Tom Pinto, president of the Doug Bay Manor Association.

But Stewart said she believed a majority of the people visiting the market would be on foot or arriving via the LIRR.

“We need this area revitalized,” she said of Douglaston Village. “I think the market could bring a lot of vitality to the area. Maybe some of the empty stores [on 235th Street] would get rented.”

Chambers said local community groups would also be allowed to set up tables at the market free of charge each weekend. Cooking demonstrations would also be held regularly.

The nonprofit will push through the application for the Douglaston market this week, Chambers said. The matter would then go before Community Board 11.

Originally, GrowNYC had predicted that the earliest opening date for the market could be summer 2012. On Friday, the nonprofit’s representatives said it could debut in July.

GrowNYC also helps communities create and maintain community gardens as well as provides recycling and environmental education programs.


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