Public Market a Possibility in the Seaport

By Andrea Appleton
Oct. 11 , 2006

Jill Slater and Robert LaValva walked over the rounded paving stones of Front Street, past the newly renovated buildings there, and into the shadowed reaches under the FDR. They peered through gates into the concrete interiors of buildings where fishmongers once plied their trade. They’re now dim, empty shells of the Fulton Fish Market. But for Slater and LaValva, what they see is eclipsed by a vision of what could be there—a bustling indoor market.

They see butchers and fish sellers, produce and cheese stands. Called New Amsterdam Public, the market would have the lively atmosphere of the city’s earliest public food markets, very near where they once stood. The goods would come from farms where animals were treated well and plants were grown without pesticides, with methods that did not tax the land or pollute the water. The market would only sell regionally produced food, all from farms within about a half-day’s drive of the city. 

“In the progression of this food revolution that began about 30 years ago, we’ve now reached a point where people are ready for another model,” said LaValva, who is tall and angular, with a shy smile and dark hair that flops over his forehead. “We want to revive, reinvent, and reinterpret a lot of food traditions that are not industrial.”

He and Slater, with her explosion of dark curls and purposeful stride, intend to bring their vision to life. The partners are co-founders of the New Amsterdam Public Market Association, a newly formed nonprofit with the mission of making the market a reality.

“I love the idea,” said Lee Gruzen, co-chair of Seaport Speaks, a group that is advising the city on the area’s redevelopment. “It brings the soul back to the Seaport.” Last month, Community Board 1 passed a resolution in favor of the concept.

If LaValva and Slater’s plan seems utopian, the 14-page treatise they’ve posted on their new website, www.newamsterdampublic.org, makes it clear that, indeed, a lot more than organic carrots is riding on it. One of their goals, the document says, is to “sow the seeds of a new, sustainable economy.” For the partners, the market is a pilot project for a philosophy.

Both former city planners—Slater in San Francisco and LaValva in New York—LaValva once worked for Slow Food, an international organization formed to counter the growth of the fast food industry and the loss of culinary traditions. He organized a one-day version of the market at the municipal building last October.

For the past decade Slater, who lives in the Financial District, has done most of her food shopping through Community Supported Agriculture (in which individuals become shareholders in small farms, with fresh produce as the dividend). She also has worked on such a farm in California.

The partners say that they know of no other market quite like theirs in the country. Like the Essex Market on the Lower East Side, New Amsterdam Public would be public and indoors. And like the city’s Greenmarkets, products would come from small to medium-size farms in the Northeast. But New Amsterdam Public would be open many days a week all-year round, and it would not require the presence of the farmer.

“We feel that one of the challenges is with the distribution method,” said LaValva, adding that industrial operations like Whole Foods don’t benefit small farmers, and farmer’s markets only draw those that manage to come to the city to sell their wares. At New Amsterdam Public, “middle men” would rent space in the market, with the agreement that they would only buy from regional farms that held to market guidelines. These guidelines—based on concepts like “regional,” “sustainable,” “artisanal,” and “humane”—have yet to be clearly defined. Slater and LaValva are forming an advisory board including chefs, food activists, and agricultural experts, to help them develop practical rules.

Slater and LaValva have had preliminary talks with developers, residents, and the city, and the response has been positive if noncommittal.

“I can’t really give a timeline, but we think it’s a great idea,” said Janell Vaughan, senior manager of General Growth Properties, which leases most of the property in the Seaport from the city.

Slater and LaValva have toured several spaces, including the Tin Building and the New Market building. Some properties, like the latter, are still controlled by the city’s Economic Development Corporation. An EDC spokeswoman said the city is waiting to see General Growth’s plans before making any decisions about adjacent buildings.

Slater and LaValva said they can envision the market in any number of places, and, as usual, they’re not eager to narrow their horizons.

“We just want to be considered, to be there in the Seaport,” said Slater.