Depending on the weather, up to a dozen people can be selling items.
The block was empty this morning except for the longtime fruit vendor who set up near Trader Joe's.
At Immaculate Conception Church, the weekly Saturday flea market was getting underway inside the grounds. (Local elected officials have asked the Archdiocese and the church to end the flea market, though to date, they have not heeded the requests.)
We saw two NYPD officers on foot patrol. As previously mentioned, there are also the two NYPD light towers on the south side of the street.
These developments unfolded this past week after a deadly triple stabbing last Sunday just before 6 p.m. along this busy commercial corridor and across the street from Stuy Town.
Police arrested a suspect, 30-year-old Alejandro Piedra, who was later charged with murder with depraved indifference and attempted murder with depraved indifference, according to the NYPD and media accounts. Police said Piedra allegedly killed 38-year-old Clemson Cockfield and injured his wife, 52-year-old Jennifer Cockfield, as well as another man, 32-year-old Jonathan Lopez.
During a police briefing on Tuesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said all three victims sell second-hand items along this block.
The sidewalk sales are just one of the activities that residents have cited through the years along this problematic block, quality-of-life issues that include drug trafficking, early morning prostitution, and a growing unhoused population in need of city services.
Residents here are hopeful the changes that have occurred in the past week will become permanent.
Meanwhile, someone launched a website titled Carlina From the Block, documenting what has happened since the deadly fight last Sunday ... and calling out the District 2 City Councilmember for not taking more action on 14th Street over the past seven years.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Why 787 Coffee decided to close its 14th Street outpost (June 2023)
26 comments:
The problems in this area are the result of the overall increased poverty that now exists in our LES/EV neighborhood. I have lived here for over 40 years and have never seen so many aggressive panhandlers in the area, almost on every block where I walk, I am getting asked for money and then cursed and yelled at when I do not give the panhandlers anything. We have always had poor people in the LES/EV but never to this extent.
I like the weekly flea market. I occasionally buy furniture or small items there for cheap. Why get rid of it?
@12. The flea market is gross. I bought a chair and it had bed bugs.
Around 11.30 AM today, 6/29/24, 14th Street was clear but the usual suspect food pantry thieves (there were 3 of them) were either set up or in the process of setting up on 1st AVE opposite the CVS. As I have noted more than once, in addition to stolen canned and dry goods, they have food poison bombs of raw meat, fish, and produce on their blankets. So I went back to 14th ST and told one of the 9th Precinct officers in his SUV about it and he drove over there to check it out. When I was leaving TJs, he told me that he told them to leave and he also told me that selling ANY type of food on the sidewalks without a license, especially perishable DOH violation items, is illegal, period. The fine is $300 and he said he always gives them a chance to leave once. If they come back, it's summons time. And one more thing, one of the 2 NYPD floodlight stations has now been moved now to the front of Immaculate Conception. Karma? Only kidding. And today, per usual, the I.C. rectory yard and fence was filed with flea market items. And one could see that several illegal peddlers with their shopping carts were hanging out on 14th ST,, looking for chance to set up if the NYPD left the area. As Messala said in Ben Hur: "It goes on. It goes on, The race... the race... is not... over!"
I remember walking along 13th street, just east of Second Ave, one evening in the mid-late 1980s, and getting very nervous as I saw a number of young guys crouching between parked cars and doorways, holding bats and clubs.
Someone gave the signal and the all sprinted towards Second, a known crack dealing spot. More came out from the west side of the avenue. These guys went to town on the dealers that couldn’t sprint away quick enough.
Your dear narrator thinks a bit of the old Ultra V might be in order here…
"I like the weekly flea market. I occasionally buy furniture or small items there for cheap. Why get rid of it?
Because, as has been posted at this blog, part of Keith Powers' recent email says it all about the IC Flea Market:
"I am making an updated request of the Archdiocese and Immaculate Church to end the flea market. Myself and other elected officials have made this request in the past but they have not been responsive or cooperative. While I support the church, it’s indisputable that the flea market has created huge problems in the neighborhood."
"indisputable"
100% !
the clean up and crack down hopefully lasts. our neighborhood didn't feel this dangerous even back in the 80's. next clean up block needs to be 1st ave between 14-15 or the same thing will happen there.
The flea market is not the problem. It is civilly run and is a calm mellow place. The problem is our elected officials, as always, have their priorities all screwed up.
Just because that man says "indisputable" doesn't make it true. The flea market is nice, I enjoy occasionally browsing around there. They guy at the entrance always has useful furniture for cheap. You can find cute trinkets and items there, too. Why destroy a good thing of the neighborhood?
I like the new Carlina from the Block website. I wonder if “the Block” could be expanded to cover other 14th street safety issues that her office has been unresponsive to, such as the construction at the corner of Avenue C that led to an adjacent building being vacated on an emergency basis and the tenants losing their homes. I know the tenants had reached out to her office multiple times well before the emergency vacate order and had gotten lip service but no follow through with the Buildings Dept. Another neighbor was recently severely injured by an e-bike (almost a week in Bellevue with head injuries) and has gotten no meaningful help on the issue from Carlina’s office.
It’s really hard to fathom this CR person keeps her position much longer
"I like the new Carlina from the Block website."
Ditto. Aptly named.
"Just because that man says "indisputable" doesn't make it true. The flea market is nice, I enjoy occasionally browsing around there. They guy at the entrance always has useful furniture for cheap. You can find cute trinkets and items there, too. Why destroy a good thing of the neighborhood?"
Let me state again. I am a ST lifer who lives at a 14th Street address and I am a graduate of Immaculate Conception. I am active in our TA and I have demonstrated for housing. medical and environmental justice. This flea market was inherited from the Mary Help of Christians Church which never had these issues (I participated in a demonstration to save that church) and I know chapter and verse the history of the flea market. I do not have issues with people who run it per se or the vendors who are inside the main courtyard. In fact, my wife works at a non profit clinic (all during the Covid years and now as well) and one of their patients sold socks at the IC market, we patronized him. But sorry Keith is right, I have been on this issue for years. At one point IC had an illegal hot popcorn food vendor (pre-Covid) located right outside the rectory. It's time for it to go. Maybe in a year or so, it can come back. But now it is part of the problem. BTW, the Catholic school being closed was a demographics issue but also the parents were fed up with IC's handling of the peddler/drug dealer/prostitution/trash situation. IC, like Rivera, was not proactive in addressing the issue. As noted, it was an IC employee who was slashed in the throat while taking a task to a public urination QOL issue. And today I overheard one of the IC flea market security guys outside on the sidewalk, complaining to another guy about a security issue inside the IC courtyard.
I truly hope things get better in this area and everyone stays safe.
Ever heard of term limits? Otherwise she would be elected again and again.
This is why one should always be careful buying furniture 2nd hand. I def would not at *any* outdoor fair…
@2:11pm: Oh, so if YOU enjoy something, we all have to live with it? Maybe we can move the flea market to DIRECTLY in front of wherever YOU live - how about that?
What if you decide that you enjoy dog-fighting or cock-fighting, you'd be OK with the church having that going on there? And you'd think we all should go along with that?
Maybe get a life, or else recognize that the universe does not center on you.
IMO, @3:42pm has stated the facts in great detail, and HE is actually in a position to know the details about a lot of stuff that YOU don't have any clue about.
PS: And FWIW, Nelan doesn't understand how many people no longer attend that parish any more b/c of his attitude.
The people who sell at the flea market are kind. Respectful, honest people. And to be honest I buy items I can’t afford anymore at the chain stores there . Plus Steven ( gentleman with the music) is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met. He has given me a hug after reporting my ex for domestic violence, has the best smile too!
Thanks Edmund for the thoughtful reply but I do not necessarily agree that there is harm done by the market. Or at least I do not see how the vendors inside relate to the peddlers outside.
> @2:11pm: Oh, so if YOU enjoy something, we all have to live with it? Maybe we can move the flea market to DIRECTLY in front of wherever YOU live - how about that?
You are being a tad dramatic. I live in Stuytown on 14th street, the flea market is across the street from me. I walk around there every day and often late at night, so I'd say I have a good idea of the situation there.
>Maybe get a life, or else recognize that the universe does not center on you.
This is a fairly vacuous statement. The same could be said about your complaints.
It isn’t fair that because Stuy ford didn’t like the flea market there is a chance it could close down. Below 14 th we don’t like your college kids living in monster apartments vomiting on our side of the Ave! No one is supporting the illegal vendors in altered states on the stretch of the Ave. Wr get it , you love chain stores and fast fashion. You got Target , Trader Joe’s and soon 5 guys ( across from the theater on 2 nd).
The chain store plight in the EV is a somewhat different problem. I am in favor of the flea market within the church but I think because of the QoL issues at 14th st small independent stores simply have too hard of a time.
Take Gemina for example, the coffee shop could have a nice outdoor patio for people to be outside and do people watching. However, no one does because you end up getting bothered constantly and that's stressful.
Only big brands can subsidize their branches at this location so it ends up being this corporate wasteland.
Well it's always interesting on 14th Street. Even on a Sunday morning*. Around 9.15 AM, 6/30/24, a guy who worked for Beth Israel/MT Sinai was talking to the 2 NYPD officers stationed on 14th St which is currently a 24/7 NYPD duty. He was showing them pictures from his cell phone and I overheard him saying the guy was in the IC flea market courtyard. I assuming that the bike was stolen elsewhere, not in the IC flea market courtyard. Sure enough, out pops the guy from the courtyard with the stolen bike. In his hand was a pride day ribbon package. You can't make these things up. The officers were about to cuff him but they, per protocol, asked the BI employee if wanted to press charges but he said no, I guess he was just happy to get his bike back so the perp just walked west on 14th Street with his pride ribbons. Whether he paid for them at the flea market or stole them, we will never know.
Also on 14th ST, right next to the IC flea market courtyard entrance was one of the xxxxx food pantry thieves, sitting on a stool with her shopping cart filled with the stolen food goods. I guess she didn't get the memo. Earlier I had told the officer that she was there, waiting for a NYPD absence to sell but he basically told me not on his watch. There was also a NYPD presence (car) on 1st Ave opposite the CVS.
And both floodlights were going full blast at 9.15 AM. The officer told me that since they are controlled by auto sensors, they could do nothing about turning them off. And here is link from the BdB days with the some background on these floodlights.
And the 14th 1st AVE NW corner is always a problem. The bodega is ground zero for the dealers and their clients. The closed noodle restaurant next door doesn't help.
Cheers!
https://untappedcities.com/2018/03/07/cities-101-why-are-nypd-floodlights-illuminating-nyc-parks-and-housing-developments/
"Thanks Edmund for the thoughtful reply but I do not necessarily agree that there is harm done by the market. Or at least I do not see how the vendors inside relate to the peddlers outside."
Thank you for your reply. Well it's not only Powers and my POV plus others who have posted here and at various STPCV FB private group pages, (where I have posted the various EV Grieve threads on this issue and initially broke the story with news links), that there is a relationship between the IC flea market and the 14th St chaos. Believe it or not, even Rivera sees the relationship. In her official notice, she purposely mentioned "The Archdiocese of New York" as who she contacted, not the Immaculate Conception Church headed by Msgr. Kevin J. Nelan. So like Powers, she's gone over his head. As have others. And if IC has lost "Carlina On The Block", what can one say? It's Nelan that's the IC flea market management issue here and as long he's in charge, there will be a relationship. One more thing. Even with the poster supporting my POV, I am not a fan (and I am on the record at this blog all the time) of the usual "get a life" line which has the same MO as "get a grip" and the infamous "if you don't like xxx (usually noise), move tp xxx ". line.
Hi Edward, I believe you that "there is a relationship between the IC flea market and the 14th St chaos" (I have lived here for 20+ years, have eyeballs, etc.) but could you explain precisely what that relationship is? Meaning why is it (or has it been) such a problem for the church to contain the flea market, to keep it separate from whatever is happening on the street, where the best/safest option is to shut it down? Why did these problems not exist when the flea market was on Avenue A? Is it just that the out-of-control street vending grew outward from the flea market and the church did nothing to stop it? I'm just trying to understand what happened—thanks in advance.
I went to Trader Joes on Friday and saw two cops standing outside. Maybe the ciy is taking the chaos on 14th St seriously.
^ Edmund, I got your name wrong—sorry, neighbor! I blame autocorrect :)
—Anon 7:33
"^ Edmund, I got your name wrong—sorry, neighbor! I blame autocorrect :)
—Anon 7:33"
1. It's a common mistake. "Ed" is fine to use. Moving on.
2. I believe my posts and other posters here have gone into some detail about the cause and effect of the IC flea market. But here's a little history. When IC took over the Mary Help Of Christians flea market, very soon peddlers who did not want to pay the IC fee, drug dealers who needed a front and other peddlers of stolen and broken goods, started to set up shop on the 14th ST east side service road island just behind the bus stop that was close to 1st Ave. They did so because they knew the traffic generated by the flea market would be beneficial to them. The food pantry thieves who came on board during COVID, also understood that the foot traffic generated by the IC flea market would be beneficial to them. Once those markers were in place, then came the nighttime and early morning drug/prostitution issues. The homeless encampment that always springs up just outside the L train elevator on the service road island is also related to this. And with hardly any or sporadic enforcement, this turned into a perfect CF storm 14th Street situation even if the IC flea market was not active on weekdays. The IC flea market market was the initial trigger and is the continuing juice behind the current CF.
3. As has been noted, Powers and even "Carlina From The Block" have agreed to the cause and effect of the IC Flea market and have asked for it to be ended. Politically would they have done this if it was not true, going up against the IC Church and the politically powerful Archdiocese of New York? I don't think so.
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