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The Center for an Urban Future released a report, Rethinking New York's Street Fairs (PDF), that criticizes city street fairs for being too many, too bland, and too difficult for other vendors to participate in. For instance, did you realize there are 367 street fairs a year (at least planned for 2006)? And did you know that almost 46% of the food permits are held by the 20 largest street vendors - 9 of which are from outside NYC?
Three large production companies—Clearview Fes- tival Productions, Mardi Gras Festival Productions, andMayor Bloomberg responded to the report, saying, "The politics of street fairs are complex to say the least,. As far as I know, if other vendors wanted to show up and participate, they could." But the Center for an Urban Future argues that many local vendors don't know much about the process and the city should do more to educate a more diverse and NYC-based group of food and merchandise vendors that could be interested in joining. Gothamist has to agree with the Center for an Urban Future on this one: Unless the fair has specific ties to an event (like San Gennaro, for one), the fare is usually the same sausages-n-curly fries, cheap undershirts, and random bric-a-brac. Street fairs are fun the first, oh, let's say five times you come across them, but after that, it's there diminishing rate of return. Unless you need some gym socks.
Mort & Ray Productions—organize more than 200 of the fairs. Vendors pay $100 to $400 to participate in each event, with profits split between the production company and the nonprofit sponsor. The city receives 20 percent of the total vendor fees, which is used for police overtime and other expenses.The problem is that the production companies have no incentive to reach out to city businesses or ensure that the fairs don’t attract a lot of the same vendors. “The production companies don’t care what you sell.They just want their money,” says Jane Bell, owner of Pet Portables, who participated in more than 40 street fairs in 2005. “The merchandise this year is the same as it was last year.”
One of the production companies—Mardi Gras Festival Productions—offers a “buy five, get one free” discount package to vendors who participate in multiple events. Additionally, vendors interested in participating in some of the larger and more lucrative fairs that Mardi Gras puts on, such as those on Manhattan’s West Side, can’t do so unless they also purchase space at other fairs. While these policies may help the event organizer secure profits, it also ensures that the fairs feature many of the same businesses week after week.
And the Center for an Urban Future has a great quote from Suzanne Wasserman, director of the Gotham Center for New York City History at the CUNY Graduate Center: “They’re all so similar. You walk through and you have absolutely no sense that you’re in New York City. You could just be anywhere. It’s Manhattan, it’s not Dutchess County. That’s what’s so weird, that it has this kind of Dutchess County Fair feel to it." Hmm, is the dis to Dutchess County or to us - or both? To be fair, there is a Red Hook there, but it's really not the same.
Photograph by Michael Brandon on Flickr
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That's such a weird comparison between a street fair and the Dutchess County Fair. While both have greasy and foods and vendors selling cheap crap, the Dutchess County fair also has farm animals, farm implements (new and antique), country music concerts and lots more.
do those things even really qualify as "fairs"? let's be honest, for the most part they're really junk food festivals. they remind me of food courts at low-rent malls and i would take, like, four imodium before i'd ever eat anything from one of them.
Street fairs are a blight. They tie up traffic, block entry to the stores that actually pay rent on a given block and offer nothing supplemental to the urban experience. What can we do to get rid of them?
socks. that's all these street fairs are good for.
sausages and curly fries will never get old. ever.
I couldn't agree more. In Brooklyn there is a 5th Avenue Street Fair and a Seventh Avenue Street fair with almost zero difference between the two except for two block, and both are made totally irrelevant by the Antlantic Avenue monstrosity. There need to be fewer fairs or more variety between fairs.
Don't knock the socks. You can always use another pair of socks. Definitely a diss to Dutchess County, though. Perhaps Ms. Wasserman had a bad experience upstate? If you don't like the street fairs, don't go to them. As for tying up traffic, I'd rather have a fair than the unending demolition by Verizon, Con Ed and the like. At least the street fairs don't mess with my lights or cable.
Fair is the New Terrible - I couldn't agree more!!
The socks you buy at those street fairs suck big time. You're better off going to an old navy.
Agreed that street fairs in NYC are boringly similar, but come on, the argument against them because of traffic congestion is silly. You drive in NYC, you deserve traffic congestion.
The best street fair and the only unique one I've ever attended was the Japanese one in the east Village between 1st and A - it was on St marks?? I don't know when it is, I luckily stumbled upon it once. I wish I knew when it was because they had the best crafts, jewlry and clothing
there needs to be more egg cream/egg roll festivals throughout the city.
Atlantic Antic is way more than a street fair... it's full of local vendors and restaurants and live music...
the best is the italian streetfairs with the darts game. the guidos say to throw one, it's free and then when you throw one they say it's 5 bucks and then a whole bunch of guys come out and intimidate you to pay. Guido's! gotta love em!
I love me some NYC, but Chicago is better when it comes to street fests...like Market Days!
WHoo hoo.
I love me some NYC, but Chicago is tops when it comes to street fests. Like Market Days for instance. Last night was awesome.
Man, that's an unfair dis on Dutchess County. The Dutchess County Fair is a testament to its rural roots. Besides, they have much better crafts, and rides, too.
And Red Hook is very quaint. And has a Frank Gehry building nearby. Oh, right. Manhattan's going to have that soon too. Hmmm. Maybe it's not so different.
Of course, the NYC street fairs claim to have Interesting Items.
I love me some NYC, but Chicago is def tops when it comes to street fests. Like last night's Market Days. Awesome!
Whoa, PleaseShutUp, I don't know which 5th Ave (N. Park Slope) street fair you've been to, but at the ones that I have been to all of the local merchants and restaurants set up tables outside their storefronts -- those shouldnt be thrown into the same lot as those obnoxious fairs in Manhattan selling overpriced junk food. Not all street fairs suck.
When I have gone to street fairs in other cities I was really disappointed that there were not any socks being sold. I of course remarked, this can't be a street fair, where the hell are the socks?
"the fare(sic) is usually the same sausages-n-curly fries, cheap undershirts"
I've seen cheaper undershirts at 99cents stores and quality is about the same.
Hey, if it weren't for street fairs, I would never have gotten to try things like deep-fried Oreos, which I had only read about in articles about how Middle America is getting fat.
STREET FAIRS SUCK. Waste of time, money and they f#ck up the traffic in the city. They are generic, pathetic and annoying (especially the guy on the megaphone screaming about New York Post subs, or the douchebags with the mix tapes). UGH! Stop the madness. I do like it when they are original though- Big Apple BBQ is the best kind of street fair out there....
The taste of Chinatown street fair should not be lumped into these carpetbaggers and their pre fab booths and propane tanks.
friggin carnies.
Hey goombah, you still owe me $10 for that ball toss game. My level 6 Dep Gel doesn't pay for itself, y'know?
back in the day street fairs were awesome, because the people selling stuff, both the food and the wares, were from new york. you had local neighborhood restaurants setting up tables with their dishes, and the stuff being sold was either art and clothing made by residents, or antiques/junk. not this wholesale purchased industrially manufactured generic shit that can be bought anywhere or the standard sausage/peppers, arepas, funnel cake slop that is also just an industrial product.
I think in order to bring authenticity back, the fairs as they are now should be banned and individual neighborhood should be responsible for organizing their own fairs if they want them, with planning and vendor attendance only permitted to people/businesses from that particular neighborhood.
The Dutchess County Fair is better than every single NYC street fair combined. Ms. Wasserman has no idea what she's talking about, and probably considers Yonkers as "upstate".
i have heard that Chicago has pretty good street fairs. sounds like they have an awesome one called Market Days or something like that.
i have heard that chicago has really good street fairs. sounds like they have an awesome one called market days or something like that.
I have heard that pat likes to click twice or something like that
As a new vendor is too expensive to get into the fair it costs up to $220 just for the space without nothing more than the floor.... I agree that nowadays vendors are offering a-lot-of-crap but regarding the variety offered it should stay NY style, people from allover are welcome!!