Mixed Feelings About the Brooklyn Flea

I'm not in Brooklyn but I've been reading the Brooklyn Paper and the Daily Intel and see that there is trouble brewing in Ft. Greene over the Brooklyn Flea.

Seems that not everyone is thrilled about the crowds that pour into the neighborhood on Sunday to particapte in Brooklyn's latest shopping extraaganza.

Last night there was intense meeting at local church about the flea, which has been drawing large crowds on Sunday.

Those who don't like the Flea have plenty to say. This from the Brooklyn Paper's reporting:

“There’s no parking at all and my vehicle was banged up by a vendor,” said Ramesh Kauden, who’s lived on Carlton Avenue for 40 years.

In fact, some “no parking” signs are hung on the Flea’s side of the street to facilitate the loading and unloading of antiques, handcrafts, vintage clothing and furniture, which arrive around 7 am and depart by 6:30 pm. Some parkers reportedly ignore these signs, leading vendors to double-park near the entrances to the schoolyard between Vanderbilt and Clermont avenues.

Other residents say litter overflows area trashcans. "It took all this time to clean up this place, now they want to come and drop more garbage on the neighborhood,” said Frank, who did not want to give his last name, a Fort Greene resident for 31 years.

The complainers now have the ear of Councilwoman Letitia James (D–Fort Greene), who said she’s received calls about wandering flea market patrons sitting on area stoops and locking their bicycles to gates or on scaffolding in front of Queen of All Saints Church across the street.

The church has become a hotbed for anti-flea sentiment.

But even in the immediate vicinity of Brooklyn Flea, many people give the swap meet a thumbs up, though they’re reluctant to publicly disagree with their neighbors.

“It’s nice to have local artists here, and people buying their stuff,” said Irene, who didn’t want to give her last name because she know other people on Clermont dislike the flea market. “It’s true that sometimes parking is hard on Sundays, but this is the city. It’s always difficult to find parking.”