For the love of all that is crafty and thrifty: Brooklyn's beloved Flea is in danger! NYMag reports that "the large church on Vanderbilt & Lafayette along with some FG residents are meeting this week to try to shut it down." This is their third meeting addressing the topic, and each meeting has grown in size and support. Yikes! Jonathan Butler, organizer of the Brooklyn Flea, confirmed the problems and told us the following:
At this point, as far as we know, it's a matter of a few residents and church members who feel inconvenienced by some quality of life issues that are the natural by-product of holding an event like this. Councilmember Tish James will be presenting a number of specific steps to address these concerns at the meeting on Thursday and we are optimistic that the community will be able to move forward from there. The Flea is a source of both economic stimulus and community building and the large majority of people in the area--including the Fort Greene Association and the Society for Clinton Hill--are in full support of it.
Allegedly Tish will even be addressing the concerns at the meeting on Thursday, but something tells us the main concern has nothing to do with parking and port-o-potties, and everything to do with pushing back against gentrification. The next meeting is this Thursday (7 p.m.) at the Queen of All Saints' Roman Catholic Church at Lafayette and Vanderbilt.
Photo via Luzer's Flickr.
